14 Reasons Millennial Women May Never Make It to Retirement
July 10, 2017 by Marlene Y. Satter
Millennial women, beware. Although your mothers and grandmothers may have made swift strides in health, well-being and economic equality compared to their predecessors, you are actually regressing.
And it’s going to be a good trick if you can save your way into retirement — assuming you live long enough to retire at all, that is.
Hey, don’t blame the messenger. It’s according to a new study from the Population Reference Bureau, which reveals that although young boomer women racked up an impressive 66% gain in overall well-being, in comparison with their World War II-era mothers, Gen X women only progressed 2%.
And millennial women? Sorry, but you’ve actually lost a percent.
A Huffington Post report points out that, among the 14 key areas in social, economic and physical well-being that were evaluated by the study, eight actually showed “modest to moderate” improvement.
However, that wasn’t enough to outweigh the declines in the other six — some of which declined “sharply.” Even among those that improved, progress did not keep pace with gains for earlier generations of young women.
Under the current political administration, whether that improvement will continue is questionable; that could lead to further regression in times to come.
Not all the factors slowing women’s progress are within the realm of money, although quite a few are. Some are ideologically or politically driven, while others take a toll in other ways — culturally and psychologically.
“While some measures are improving, overall the index paints a picture of lost momentum,” Beth Jarosz, an author of the report, is quoted saying. Jarosz adds, “Too many women lack the resources and supportive environments they need to live healthier lives and achieve their full potential.”
Weighing down millennial women through lost progress, whether via health, political or financial issues, makes an already tough job even tougher. In the midst of the retirement crisis, those women are weighed down even further by pay, education and debt issues.
Although reports indicate that millennials are already saving for retirement, millennial women are battling handicaps that millennial men are not.
If they survive the physical losses the study identifies — and that actually means literally surviving and living long enough to retire — they still have to rise above the cultural and economic factors to come through with enough money to see them through retirement.
Sadly, as things stand, that’s less likely today than it was for the previous generation of women.
Click HERE for the 14 factors that could keep millennial women from making it through to retirement.