Women more worried about retirement
TEXT OF STORY
Bob Moon: New numbers from the Labor Department indicate the percentage of women in the workplace has dropped. At the same time, wages for women are falling. On average, they’re making about 20 cents an hour less than they were three years ago.
And women have something else to worry about: retirement. There’s new research out today from the insurance firm The Hartford and the MIT Age Lab and it’s all about the money. Ashley Milne-Tyte has more.
Ashley Milne-Tyte: Women worry much more than men that their retirement savings won’t last.
Stephanie Chapelle, a gerontologist with The Hartford, says they have a few good reasons to be concerned:
Stephanie Chapelle: Lower retirement income, longer lives and higher likelihood of being alone at older ages.
Sue Hunter runs a pre-school in Lafayette, Indiana. She’s in her early 60’s. She’s been saving for more than 20 years. Her parents are both 88. She wonders if her nest egg will last till she’s their age.
Sue Hunter: I have some bank stock that I had which was selling for around $18 a share, now it’s down to $5. And I’m way too heavily invested in that.
Hunter says she’s well diversified otherwise. Her biggest worry is that she’s not managing her portfolio well. Investment advisors say that’s an essential part of preparing for retirement. But Hunter says with an 11-hour-a-day job, it’s hard to find the time.
I’m Ashley Milne-Tyte for Marketplace.
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