Description: Women have different resources and experiences than men in retirement, partly due to demographic and life cycle differences and partly due to societal practices. This article reviews the differences, the situation 25 years ago, and then compares the situation 25 years ago to the situation today. Some of the big long lasting issues are differences in life spans and periods of disability, differences in pay, different shares of caregiving responsibility and differences of time out of the workplace. It finds some things that have improved, but other issues that existed 25 years ago have still not been addressed. New issues have arisen. The article draws on a presentation given at the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER). It also focuses on the impact of COVID and the changes that have taken place in the workplace in the last few years. It provides insights into and discussions of the pros and cons of remote and hybrid work arrangements. It provides insights into issues that still need to be addressed.

Description: This article discusses two sets of blended by sex 1980 CSO mortality tables for use in determining minimum cash values and nonforfeiture benefits for life insurance policies issued in employee benefit plans which, because of the Norris decision, must provide equal benefits to men and women.

Description: This 1981 discussion session is about public social policies and their impact on public and private retirement plans in the United States and Canada. The key issues discussed pertain to age, sex and marital status, and income level. Also discussed is the possible impact of public social policies on future trends in disability benefits, death benefits, termination benefits, and other factors in private and public retirement plans.

Description: This paper attempts to synthesize the evidence supporting and refuting the hypotheses for the sex mortality differential. From Why Men Die Younger: Causes of Mortality Differences by Sex: Abstract, M-LI01-1.

Description: This report presents the results of a 2003 telephone study among Americans ages 45 to 80. The purpose of the study was to evaluate Americans’ awareness of potential financial risks, how this awareness impacts the management of their finances with respect to retirement and how Americans are managing the process of leaving the workforce.

Description: Elderly women living alone experience some of the highest poverty rates in the United States. One reason for their financial frailty is that they face more longevity risk than men. Existing financial products that can mitigate this risk are not attractive to many people. Can alternative vehicles for pooling longevity risk be developed outside the insurance market that would appeal to these individuals? This paper suggests some risk-pooling approaches and compares their effectiveness and viability.

Description: This paper focuses on the situation of women at high ages and the implications of longer life for women. This paper draws on and brings together work done by the Society of Actuaries in connection with the 2005 post-retirement risk survey, work from Social Security administration studies, U.S. government census data, WISER, the MetLife Mature Market Institute and papers funded by the Social Security research center.

Description: A Discussion of why female mortality is higher than male mortality at higher ages.

Description: The question of sex discrimination in employee pension plans in life insurance programs is only part of the more general issue of risk classification. Challenges to the old ways of classifying risks are not limited to pensions or to life insurance. It also impacts auto insurance, health insurance, and all other areas. However, for this discussion we will concentrate on sex discrimination in pension and retirement plans. From Record of the Society of Actuaries 1979, Volume 5, No. 1.

Description: This paper examines the social structures that are determining retirement for female Baby Boomers, and what can be done for these women to reflect the shift from shared responsibility to individual responsibility for retirement security. From Retirement Needs Framework, M-RS00-1.