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Left Behind: The Retirement Crisis for Women and LGBTQIA+ People
Retirement Resources
By Ashir Coillberg, Amy Matsui, and Jasmine Tucker
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Left Behind: The Retirement Crisis for Women and LGBTQIA+ People
Women and LGBTQIA+ people are at greater risk of economic insecurity throughout their lives, especially women and LGBTQIA+ people facing multiple forms of discrimination. After a lifetime of disparities at every turn—whether at school, at work, providing care for loved ones, or facing inequitable access to health care and inadequate investments in their well-being—older women and LGBTQ+ people are less likely to have accumulated the savings and benefits they need for a secure and dignified retirement. Indeed, many simply cannot afford to retire.
Read hereNational Women's Law Center
SHARING THEIR STORIES: Women Talk about the Challenges of Preparing for Retirement
This resource shares the personal experience of three women at different phases of life, and their thoughts and needs as they look toward retirement.
Read hereBy Courtney Anderson, Airin Chen, Dorianne Mason, Amy Matsui, Jasmine Tucker, and Julie Vogtman
POLICY AGENDA Moving Forward: Solutions to The Retirement Crisis for Women and LGBTQIA+ People
Understanding the multiple, overlapping factors that hinder women and LGBTQ people from achieving a secure retirement is key to designing solutions to the retirement crisis they face.
Read hereBy Jasmine Tucker and Julie Vogtman
FACT SHEET Low Wages, Unequal Pay, and Workplace Discrimination Rob Women and LGBTQIA+ People of Retirement Security
Wage disparities, overrepresentation in poor quality jobs, occupational segregation, and workplace discrimination all contribute to lower lifetime earnings, which translate into lower retirement savings and income for women and LGBTQIA+ people.
Read hereBy Airin Chen and Dorianne Mason
FACT SHEET Health Inequities Rob Women and LGBTQIA+ People of Retirement Security
Lack of access to comprehensive, low-cost health care, discrimination and bias in health care, and lack of economic resources to support good health, all compound to exacerbate health conditions and increase health care costs for older women and LGBTQIA+ people.
Read hereBy Veronica Faison, Laura Narefsky, and Hannah Oppermann
FACT SHEET Failing to Invest in Care Robs Women and LGBTQIA+ People of Retirement Security
A disproportionate share of unpaid caregiving responsibilities, along with overrepresentation in the underpaid care workforce, lowers women’s earnings and burdens them with costs in the absence of affordable, accessible, and high-quality child care, aging and disability care, and comprehensive paid family and medical leave.
Read hereBy Courtney Anderson and Amy Matsui
FACT SHEET Social Security and Tax-Preferred Retirement Savings Policies Disadvantage Women and LGBTQIA+ People
Retirement savings and benefits, like Social Security or employer-based retirement benefits like 401k plans, are based on employment. Due to inequities in the labor market, women and LGBTQIA+ people often have a harder time accumulating enough income and savings for a secure retirement.
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