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EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec 28, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Aging U.S. baby-boom women have a tougher economic time than men as the divorce rate rises and women's wages still trail men's, it was reported Thursday.
Record numbers of unmarried older women have higher poverty rates than men their age and much higher poverty rates than married women their age, government data cited in The Los Angeles Times show.
Baby-boom women, while generally better educated and skilled than their mothers, also have less retirement money than boomer men because many had quit jobs to raise families or worked part time.
These women are also expected to live an average of three years longer than men, raising the danger they will outlast their savings or incur costly medical bills without spousal help.
Add to this that women overall earn less than men and women have "a double whammy," says Director Alicia Munnell of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College and a former member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
