No one can deny Boomer ladies changed everything.
Born between 1945 and 1963, the women of the Boomer Generation redefined everything it meant to be female in the United States: they had careers, higher education, they were Supermoms, they were important social activists, political leaders, and cultural influencers.
But despite being the first generation of women to take their places full throttle in the workforce, many women Boomers are now encountering a serious retirement dilemma.
Though these pioneers forever altered the roles and expectations of women in the workplace, past attitudes and practices are following many of them into retirement.
Intermittent or short periods working–usually to meet the care-giving demands of a family–lower participation in retirement savings programs, paying less personal attention to financial planning, less career opportunities for lower pay, and many women retiring early all contribute to a little-discussed retirement funding problem shouldered by women in this age group.
Not only do many of these women not have personal retirement savings, but they may not have been offered or were ineligible for participation in an employer sponsored 401(k) or pension due to part-time or short periods working. And even if they did, their frequently small incomes would keep benefit checks quite low–and that’s if they didn’t retire early at age 62.
Without significant savings, without a retirement plan, and without adequate Social Security payments, Boomer women are finding themselves at double the poverty rate of their male peers after they retire.
This interesting read by Linda Gardner at Kiplinger explains all of the socioeconomic factors standing against the hard-working women of the Baby Boomer Generation, and what they can do right now to protect themselves from feeling the financial squeeze.
