SIDEBAR: WHY RETURN TO WORK?
by Pamela Stone
Divorce and annulment. As reported by the U.S. Census Bureau: "The average marriage in the United States lasts only seven years."
The poverty rate. 80 percent of all widows who are now living in poverty, weren't poor before the death of their husbands.
On average, women earn only 76 cents for every dollar that men earn, resulting in lower Social Security and pension benefits.
The cost of caring for aging parents usually falls to the eldest female child, regardless of her economic status. If you drop out of the workforce to care for your parent, you jeopardize your pension and retirement benefits.
The longer women live, the greater the possibility they'll outlive their assets, says Phyllis Mutchler, executive director of The National Center on Women and Aging. "More and more women are living longer and longer, and their pensions aren't indexed for inflation. If you live 15 or 20 years past retirement, you can erode your pension benefits."
Source: The National Center on Women and Aging, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts.
SIDEBAR: LAYOFFS AFFECTING MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN >>
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