Let's change the song

I receive Google alerts about retirement and every day there are stories that have the same theme. How tough it is for women to save for retirement; women are more likely than men to end their days in poverty than men; women have it tough when it comes to finances.  

The stories usually follow this format: 1.) Women make less than men, 2.) women are in the labour force for less time and therefore work less than men, 3.) women live longer than men, 4.) women don't invest as much as men, 5.) when women invest, they are more successful than men. 6.) women need to save more, 6.) women need to learn more about money. The structure may change but the theme is the same, blame women for their inability to save enough for retirement. Here are a few excerpts from some stories that came in on one day.

Story One--Financial strategies for women over 50 can help

Not only do they make substantially less than men, overall, but they also spend less time in the workforce, carry higher levels of college debt and often don’t have access to a retirement plan at work.

All these things, in addition to others—serving as caregivers for family members (and devoting not just time but precious income to help them), having less money with which to save for retirement, having to get by on lower Social Security because of years of lower income—all come together to create a perfect storm at retirement for many.

Women are more likely to end their days in poverty and to spend whatever they might have less on long-term care (since they’re usually the caregivers, there’s seldom anyone around to care for them when they need it).

Story Two-Women at risk of 'financial meltdown' due to lack of individual pension rights

Women of all age groups are at risk of a “financial meltdown” in the event of a relationship breakdown because of their lack of individual pension rights or even financial plans, according to new research by Royal London. 

According to a YouGov survey specially commissioned for Royal London, approximately 45 percent of women living with a partner said they were either not confident or did not know if their long term financial plans would be adequate if their current relationship failed. Just 34 percent of men felt the same way.

Royal London pensions specialist, Helen Morrissey said the findings are “extremely worrying” and show that “we have a long way to go to ensure women are building resilient retirement plans”.

Story Three--The top money tips for older women

Question Do younger and older women differ, in how they understand and handle money?

“The irony is that your need for safety gets in the way of true financial security.”

I find that younger women are more open and transparent about it. They have to deal with a lot of issues as young adults, like student debt, and they talk about it as a way to find solutions. Older women are not as open, because they have accumulated years of baggage, and have been told their whole lives not to talk about it.

Story Four---More Women Growing Old Poor In Phoenix, Mirroring National Trend

More and more women are growing old poor. That’s according to a report by the national advocacy group Justice in Aging. In Phoenix, the reasons why mirror what’s happening nationally.

The problem is these stories don't tell the correct story. We need to change the story. The facts are that we pay women less than men, and that is one of the main reasons women put less away for retirement. The story has to be shifted so we start talking about paying women the same as men. Now I know that most men are not great at saving for retirement but we have a head start because we make more money.  It is, in my humble opinion, scandalous that even though we have had laws on the books for over 50 years, women are not receiving equal pay for equal work.   Boomer women are retiring alongside Boomer men and since they will live longer their well being will be a major crisis for society in the next few years.

In the United States, there had been The Equal Pay Act since 1963. It is a United States labour law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex. It was signed into law on June 10, 1963, by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program. However, this law some 56 years later has had no effect on women’s wages overall. Sad and destructive to our economic well being. 

In Canada, Ontario has a similar act. Under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), subject to certain exceptions, an employer cannot pay one employee at a rate of pay less than another employee on the basis of sex when they perform substantially the same kind of work in the same establishment, their work requires substantially the same skill, effort and responsibility and their work is performed under similar working conditions.

Let's not spend too much energy wringing our hands and writing articles to blame women about the fact that women cannot save enough for retirement; let us focus our energies on working to ensure that women are paid the same as men when they are working. That is the crises we need to spend time and energy on. and when we get to the point when we pay women equally,  over time women will be in the position that they need not worry about ending their lives in poverty.