It’s apparent that Americans, both women and men, have not saved enough money for retirement. Studies have increasingly indicated that many baby boomers have no financial plan in place to protect themselves against outliving their assets and the rising cost of health care should they live longer than expected. So what makes women so much more vulnerable than men?

Longevity. It’s a phenomenon seen in every population: Women live longer than men. In the most recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, life expectancy at birth in the United States for the total population was 78.8 years—76.4 years for males and 81.2 years for females. At first, people tried to explain this fact by saying that men did more dangerous things and therefore died younger. Men ride motorcycles, don’t see the doctor regularly and take more risks. Realistically, these explanations didn’t explain much. It seems women just live longer. When they reach 85, there are roughly six women to every four men. But whether that’s a bragging right depends on the quality of life the women experience in those additional years.

Health-care costs. Because of their longevity, in fact, women have a greater likelihood of spending money on a series of multiple and chronic illnesses. Their rates for chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are similar to those of men, but women are twice as likely to suffer from headaches and more likely to experience joint, back or neck pain. These conditions often require regular and frequent treatment as well as follow-up care.

One thing is moving in the right direction for women, though: the cost of insurance. Before 2014, the National Women’s Law Center found that the best-selling insurance plans were charging women more for health-care coverage than men. A research study at Mercer found that women were paying more for these health benefits yet receiving less coverage. Because women tend to use health-care services more than men, the disparity in benefit levels was having a greater impact on them financially. But beginning in 2014, an Obamacare provision prohibited insurance companies from charging higher rates based on gender or any pre-existing health conditions. As the economy improves and the unemployment rate falls, companies now have the opportunity to attract and retain female talent with their benefits. The right health-care package may be the key to a more engaged, productive and loyal workforce.

Caregiving. Women are not only caring for their children but also for aging parents, feeling it is their duty to do so. But few plan for it. And women often don’t realize the emotional and financial toll that caregiving can take. For generations, women have been expected to be wives, mothers and community volunteers. In fulfilling these roles, they were supposed to be cooperative, supportive, understanding and gentle while providing service to others—mostly at the expense of tending to their own health-care needs. The costs associated with these roles were further exacerbated by the women’s inability to focus on more lucrative careers.

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