Exam 18: Socioemotional Development in Late Adulthood and the End of Life

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The factors that most influence whether older women will become or stay poor during the retirement years are marital status (divorced, widowed, or never married are negatives), prior employment, and health. Because of longer life expectancy for women, they are more likely to experience the loss of their spouse, live alone in old age, and become financially vulnerable. Women who reach age 65 today are likely to live another 22 years, about 2 years longer than men the same age. Most women over 65 will spend some years alone. For women of all racial and ethnic groups, marital disruption, including widowhood, results in a substantial decline in household income and assets; however, the relative loss is greatest for African American and Hispanic women.
Women have different work history patterns from men. Interrupting their careers to take care of children often reduces women's opportunities to accumulate Social Security and other retirement benefits and reduces economic well-being. For example, average Social Security benefits for women are about $14,000 per year as compared with about $18,000 for men. Education, especially postsecondary education, has important effects on women's social and economic status during their preretirement years. After controlling for demographic characteristics and employment-related variables, both European American and African American women with postsecondary education tend to be better off economically and rely less on public assistance income during their retirement. Policies that support women's education and aid them in balancing careers, if desired, with family and caregiving can help women develop the educational and career capital to support occupational achievement and economic stability throughout adulthood. Perhaps then women may be less likely to experience poverty during their "golden years."