WSJ: Here’s What Retirement Looks Like for Single Women in America

[Anonymous]

https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/retirement-single-woman-finances-02493af3?st=bgvkdpjlusti2vc&reflink=article_copyURL_share

The risk of running out of money in retirement rises for those with lower pay, longer lives or no partner.

Millions of single women wrestle with all three.

Women earn less than men on average during their working years and are more than twice as likely as men to leave the workforce for more than one year to care for children or aging parents, according to a survey of 5,261 Americans that Goldman Sachs plans to release Monday.

This shortfall compounds in retirement. Social Security checks are 20% smaller for women who first claim at 62 to 64 years of age, compared with men the same age.

Single women, in particular, have smaller 401(k) and IRA nest eggs. On average, single women between 55 and 64 have about $88,600 in retirement savings, compared with $136,685 for single men and $423,800 for married couples in the same age group, according to Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research.

Women also tend to live longer, raising the projected total cost of retirement as they have to stretch their smaller savings over more years.

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[Anonymous]

And your reason for posting this is….?

I’d rather be a single woman than a caretaker in old age. And my retirement savings are looking pretty healthy.