Women’s Social Security benefits are growing while men’s benefits are stagnant, according to the Urban Institute, which released a new report on the future of retirement.
This reflects the fact that women are working more and getting paid more, said Richard W. Johnson, director of the program on retirement policy for the institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank that conducts economic and social research. The retirement data was released Tuesday.
“As women work more and earn more per hour, their lifetime earnings are increasing rapidly,” the institute said. “We project that, compared with pre-boomer women, median lifetime earnings will be 88% higher for Gen X women and 129% higher for Xennial women in inflation-adjusted dollars. These gains will raise retirement incomes for women as well as for married men.” (“Xennial” is defined by the Urban Institute as those born between 1976 and 1985.)
“Men’s lifetime earnings, by contrast, are not keeping pace with inflation,” said the report. Projected median lifetime earnings are 3% lower, in inflation-adjusted dollars, for Xennial men than for pre-boomer men.” However, despite the gains that women are making, the gender gap in earnings persists, and Xennial median lifetime earnings will be 40% higher for men than for women.
The Urban Institute made recommendations that could help those people still falling short in retirement savings.
Changing tax policies for retirement savings to benefit low income people could go a long way to solving the United States’ retirement problems, the institute said. Replacing tax deductions, which disproportionately benefit high-income families, with tax credits, which would reach those most in need and “help reduce the retirement preparedness gap” is one step that would help.
Policy makers also should expand the options to annuitize retirement accounts and savings at retirement.
Those nearing retirement age need to consider working longer, which could improve their long-term security, generate additional payroll and income tax and reduce Social Security’s deficit. “Policy makers and employers need to recognize the importance of jobs for older adults by promoting retraining and flexible work schedules that can accommodate their needs,” the report said.
Based on its research, the institute predicted retirement incomes will continue to increase over the next four decades as long as policy makers do not cut Social Security benefits. Median per capita after-tax family income at age 70 will be 17% higher for Gen Xers than for the pre-boomers born from 1936 to 1945 in inflation-adjusted dollars, and median retirement income for Xennials will be 24% higher than the median for pre-boomers.
Social Security is one of the big question marks, the Urban Institute said. If benefits are cut across the board beginning in 2035, 38% of Gen Xers and 40% of Xennials will be unable to replace at least 75% of their preretirement earnings at age 70, which is usually considered the standard amount needed for a retired person to maintain his or her preretirement lifestyle.