How to Close the Gap

Policies need to change, Enda and Gale write. Here are their solutions:

Working should be made more attractive to women, and this includes implementing "a robust federal paid family and medical leave program [that] would let people save for retirement and earn Social Security credits while providing care to children and relatives." This could be done by assigning a value to caregiving work that would be used as part of Social Security benefit calculations.
High-quality child care should be subsidized so that more women can remain in the workforce.
Revisions to the tax code "to provide a second-earner tax credit or to tax individuals rather than families would improve incentives for married women to work."
Also, as women make up a majority of those in the workforce not covered by an employer-sponsored plan, adoption of a nationwide automatic IRA program could make them "eligible to participate in a tax-preferred workplace retirement program."
Finally, the social safety net must be strengthened, the authors state. "For example, boosting Supplemental Security Income benefits to close the gap between Social Security income and the poverty threshold could lift nearly 5 million elderly people, a majority of whom are women, out of poverty."

Also, increasing support from Medicare and Medicaid for end-of-life care could help widows. And, the authors suggest, there should be a re-examination and reform of divorce laws that could help more women be adequately prepared to meet financial needs.

Instant Insights /

How to Improve Women's Retirement Savings

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