Dependency to Social Security Benefits more prevalent among Women

According to the Committee on American Academy Actuaries Social Insurance, women are receiving lower Social Security benefits due to the differences concerning gender in the work culture of America. The said actuaries committee issued these observations in their brief's new issue, "Women and Social Security." In this issue, the actuaries cited several points behind their observation. They detailed that the wage history differences, the greater possibilities of surviving longer than the spouse, the occurrence of still being single during retirement, and the greater probability for the women not to be included in the workforce, albeit temporarily are the indications of differences causing women's benefits to shrink smaller as compared to that of the men folk. This even if the benefit from Social Security follows rules of gender-neutral calculations.

Los Angeles, California, July 26, 2007 – Furthermore, the issue brief of the Academy attests to the fact that the women become more dependent upon the Social Security's benefits since on average they are more inclined to receive inadequate and unsatisfactory income for their retirement years.

According to specified data in the issue brief, 40 percent and more of females with the age of 62 and older solidly rely on Social Security programs to cover almost 90% of their retirement income. These statistics are distinctly in contrast with facts that only 28 percent of males with the age of 62 and above are relying on Social Security benefits for their income.

Furthermore, among the subgroups in the country that has one of the highest poverty rates are the single women of 65 years and older.

According to Ron Gebhardtsbauer, Senior Pension Fellow of the Academy, the public policymakers must not only evaluate and find various alternatives in reforming the system and flow of the Social Security. They should also not just find solutions to the financial predicaments besetting the administration of it. Aside from these widely known issues, they also must put substantial attention and importance to the fact that most women consider the Social Security as their main source of retirement income.

Gebhardtsbauer implied that before the policymakers adopt proposals, they must be circumspect in studying and modeling how it would affect the families and other beneficiaries in several particular situations.

Moreover, according to the Academy's issue brief the women have a higher probability to reduce their savings for retirement years, considerably due to the fact of their longer life span. Statistics prove that men have shorter life expectancy once they reach the age of retirement, 17 years only compared to women whose life span can extend up to 20 years upon reaching the age of 65.

There is also a discussion regarding the comparative disadvantage of couples who are both earning wages to couples with only one breadwinner. The dual earning couples are mostly receiving lower benefits from Social Security. They are subject to these conditions even though their contributions do not differ among others, or may have even contributed much larger amounts to certain programs without a bit or any additional benefit for them.  

On the other hand, single wage earner families still receive benefits that extend to the spouses who are not working.