Women to Bear the Brunt of Retirement Shortfall
A former executive at Bank of American Corp., Sallie Krawcheck, has said that the retirement savings shortfall is “a women’s crisis,” at the American Council of Life Insurers conference. According to Krawcheck, this is due to women having overall lower earnings and longer lifespans.
The gap between assets and post-retirement needs, says Krawcheck, rests at $13 trillion. According to her, employers can help alleviate this by actively countering the gender-pay gap and encouraging more investment education for women. Two major demographics, women and millennials represent the largest opportunities for growth for financial firms.
The exact figure for the U.S. retirement shortfall varies: often as low as $6.8 trillion or as high as $14 trillion. This depends on what variables are included in the calculations.