US News & World Report, May 9, 2009

Two reports crossed my desk this week each pointing out unique retirement challenges faced by either men or women. Here’s a quick look.

Women’s challenges. Women typically live longer than men, which means more years of retirement that need to be financed. Once you make it to age 65, American men can expect to live 13 years while women are likely to persist for 15 years. A report issued yesterday by the National Institute on Retirement Security found that a woman with a salary of $50,000 must save $1,000 more per year than her male counterpart to achieve equitable retirement incomebecause of her longer life expectancy. Women are also less likely than men to have traditional pensions that provide income for life. The study also noted that women with husbands who have traditional pensions may be better off than women whose spouses only have a 401(k) or IRA because pensions often continue to pay out benefits to spouses.

Read the full article here.