Aging, U: Improving Income Security for Older Women in Retir

Excerpt from Improving Income Security for Older Women in Retirement: Current Issues and Legislative Reform Proposals: Forum Before the Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session; Washington, DC; September 23, 1993; Serial No. 103-13

In September 1993, the National Eldercare Institute on Older Women and the National Council of Negro Women held a Con ference on the needs of older women. In conjunction with this Con ference, the Senate Special Committee on Aging hosted this Forum on improving income security for older women in retirement.

In many ways, aging is a women's issue. Not only do women make up a large majority of the older population, but they also comprise the vast amount of caregivers for our Nation's elderly. Moreover, elderly women compose 75 percent of the nursing home population, are almost three times as likely as men to be widowed, and experience poverty rates twice as high as elderly men. These health and socio-economic characteristics of older women make gender an important factor in determining the life course of the majority of America's elderly. Therefore, an understanding of the special needs and characteristics of older women is imperative if we are to be successful in developing meaningful policy for our elderly population as a whole.

This Forum on improving income security for older women in re tirement provides an opportunity for policymakers to examine a wide array of issues including - income and the older, single woman; income variations among racial and ethnic groups; gaps in income protection for older women in retirement; and legislative proposals to reform the Social Security and pensions systems. The Forum brought together an outstanding panel of experts to discuss these issues and make recommendations. We hope that you find this Committee print helpful and we thank the National Eldercare Institute on Older Women and the National Council of Negro Women for all of their help in making this Forum a success.

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