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When Will the Gender Gap in Retirement Income Narrow?

Author

Listed:
  • William E. Even

    (Miami University)

  • David A. Macpherson

    (Florida State University)

Abstract

Among recent retirees, women receive substantially less retirement income from Social Security and private pensions than men. Increases in women’s labor market attachment and earnings relative to men over the past 50 years provide some optimism for an improvement in female retirement income, particularly for married women. This study shows that women’s income from Social Security and private pensions has improved only slightly relative to men over the past 25 years. Using data on people approaching retirement age over the next 20 years, prospects for future improvement are investigated. One of the main conclusions is that pension income among women (particularly married women) will rise sharply relative to men’s over the next few decades, but a substantial gap could remain even if women close the gap in experience and salaries.

Suggested Citation

  • William E. Even & David A. Macpherson, 2004. "When Will the Gender Gap in Retirement Income Narrow?," Labor and Demography 0404006, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpla:0404006
    Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 35
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    File URL: https://econwpa.ub.uni-muenchen.de/econ-wp/lab/papers/0404/0404006.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Tianhong Chen & John A. Turner, 2015. "Gender and Public Pensions in China: Do Pensions Reduce the Gender Gap in Compensation?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Peng, Qing & Yang, Haisheng & Li, Jie, 2025. "Gender gap in working span, employment, and labor productivity," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    3. Stefania Basiglio & Noemi Oggero, 2020. "The Effects of Pension Information on Individuals’ Economic Outcomes: A Survey," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-16, August.
    4. Iris Kesternich & Marjolein Van Damme & Han Ye, 2024. "Job Amenities and the Gender Pension Gap," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2024_600v2, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany, revised Apr 2025.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J - Labor and Demographic Economics

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