Late-life gender disparities in economic security in the context of geography, race and ethnicity, and age: evidence from the 2020 Elder Index

Mutchler, Jan, Roldan, Nidya Velasco and Li, Yang (2021) Late-life gender disparities in economic security in the context of geography, race and ethnicity, and age: evidence from the 2020 Elder Index Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Abstract

New estimates from the 2020 Elder Index illustrate the elevated risk of economic insecurityexperienced by older women, especially those living alone. We compare annual householdincomes to the Elder Index for adults aged 65 years or older living in one- and two-personhouseholds to calculate the percentage of older adults with annual incomes that do notsupport economic security. National averages suggest that 54% of older women livingalone, along with 45% of older men living alone, have annual incomes below the Elder Index.In addition, 24% of older adults living in couple households have annual incomes below theElder Index. The gender gap in economic security is especially high in the Northeast andparts of the Midwest. The relative disadvantage of living alone compared to living in acoupled household is higher for women than men. Women who are age 85 or older andwomen of color are at especially high risk of economic insecurity. These findings highlightthe sizable impact of gender inequality throughout the life course on retirement security

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Contributors

Author: Yang Li

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