Minority Women-A Higher Risk of Poverty

Submitted by Michael Green

The following article was published by The Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER). WISER is an advocacy group which operates the National Resource Center for Women & Retirement. The reason I picked the article is because it highlights the issues of Minority women and retirement and financial literacy and how it affects their abilities to build wealth as well as plan for and enjoy a successful retirement. This article is a two-part series. The second part will appear later in this month.

Challenges for Minority WomenA Higher Risk of Poverty

Retirement Planning is important for everyone, but it is especially important for minority women. Despite the overall decline in poverty rates among older Americans during the last several decades, many older women remain poor. In 2018 the poverty threshold for an individual age 65 and older living alone was $12,043. More then 11% of women over the age 65 fell below that threshold, in contrast to only 8.1% of men the same age. Even if she is not poor when she first retires, the likelihood of being poor increases with her age. In 2018, 13.2% of women age 75 and older fell below poverty line compared to 8.8% of men of the same age. The poverty rates for older women of color are even higher. In 2018 the rate for older black women living alone was 31.3% and for Hispanics women it was 43%-a rate more than twice that of the 16.4% for White women. In 2018 among women 65 and older who lived alone, Hispanics women were the most likely to live in poverty.

Minority Women and the Three Legs of the Retirement income Stool A Future Paycheck

From a practical point of view, all of the income from Social Security benefits, employer retirement savings plans and pension, and personal savings and investments can be looked at as “future paycheck.” Experts often refer to these three sources as the “three-legged stool.” The idea being that if an individual receives an adequate income from each leg of the stool, she will be secure in retirement. If one of the legs of the stool is missing or is not financially sound, the stool wobbles and will be unable to support an adequate retirement. Specifically, the three legs of stool are Social Security, work place retirement plans and pensions, and personal savings and investments.

Social Security-the First Leg of the Stool.

Today Social Security benefits are the most important source of income for older women, more than 90% of whom receive benefits as a worker, spouse, divorced spouse, survivor, or divorced survivor. Women represent 55% of all Social Security beneficiaries age 62 and older, and approximately 64% of those age 85 and older. The reality is that for many women Social Security is their main or only source of retirement income. The average monthly Social Security benefit received by women age 62 and older in 2018 was $1,297, compared to $1,627 for men.

Social Security comprised nearly half (45%) of the total income of unmarried women, including widows 65 and older. In contrast Social Security comprised only 32% for unmarried older men’s income and only 27% of older couples’ income. In 2017, almost half (48%) of all unmarried females over the age of 65 receiving Social Security benefits relied on Social Security for 90% or more of their income. Minority women in particular rely on Social Security. For older Black women living in families receiving Social Security, nearly 4 in 10 (37.9) rely on Social Security for nearly all of their income. Among older Hispanics women living in beneficiary families, almost 1 IN 3 (31.3) relies on Social Security for nearly all of their income. While these benefits are modest, they keep many women out of poverty.

Broadly speaking the Social Security gender gap is neutral. Women and men with identical work histories will receive the same benefits. But different work employment patterns for women and men create a gender gap in benefits. In 2018 the average monthly Social Security benefit for retired women workers was $1,246 ($14,952 annually), more than 20% less than the $1,568 monthly average ($18,816 annually) received by men. The average Social Security benefits were $13, 426 for Black women, $12,809 for Asian American-Pacific Islander women and $12,260 Hispanic women

Single women, in general, rely on Social Security benefits more than married women. And single minority women, including widowed divorced, and never married women, receive smaller benefits than White women. Social Security Administration data show that the median benefit for single women over age 65 is $1,016 a month. The median for Black women is $961, for Hispanic women $723, and $870 for all women.

The final part of this article will discuss the disparities for Minority women in accumulating wealth in work place retirement plans and personal savings and investments. “You’ve worked hard for your money, make it work for you.”

Reach

Cognitive Decline and Physical Activity

Racial and ethical approaches to community health (REACH) is a periodic column focused on reducing health disparities in the African American community. It includes topics submitted by Creighton University Health Sciences Multicultural and Community Affairs (HS-MACA) department.

By Richard L. Brown, Ph.D., FACHE

I recently came across an article that connected two of my favorite subjects. They are aging and physical activity. Aging is inevitable and cannot be stopped. Participating in physical activity, for many is difficult to start. Yet, they are dependent on each other for maintaining health.

Deep Shukia, a writer for Medical News Today, describes dementia as a group of neurological conditions characterized by deficits in thinking, remembering and reasoning. The severity of these deficits interferes with typical daily functioning and is more pronounced than the decline in cognitive function observed during healthy aging.

reclining, are associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. A recent study published in the journal of Alzheimer’s and Dementia, showed that higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and daily steps were associated with a lower risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in women aged 63 and older. In addition, the study found that moderateto-vigorous intensity steps, but not light-intensity steps, were associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline. This study helps to clarify the intensity of physical activity needed to prevent or delay cognitive decline.

Dr. Raphael Wald, Psy.D., a neuropsychologist at Baptist Health Marcus Neuroscience Institute, said: “This is a way of further confirming what we already knew while stressing the importance of moderate to vigorous exercise. The study also shows that there is no real cap on the cognitive gains that can be had from physical activity. The more you can safely do the more it decreases your risk for cognitive decline.”

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On the other hand, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition involving deficits in thinking or memory that are, unlike dementia, not severe enough to interfere with daily activities, Shukia says. MCI is often an intermediate phase between typical aging and dementia, but individuals with MCI do not always eventually develop dementia. While many of us, who have arrived in the 4th quarter of life, are beginning to be more forgetful, there is hope for avoiding full blown dementia.

Some studies showed that lower physical activity levels and increased sedentary behaviors, such as sitting or

Although we are in the middle of winter in Omaha, there are many ways to exercise indoors, including jumping jacks, push- ups and squats, during TV commercials, to name a few. Speaking of commercials, try some of these exercises during this years, historical Super Bowl game. During Black History Month, for the first time in American history, both quarterbacks are African American. Let’s celebrate by exercising and reducing the chance of dementia.

“Stay Active Health and Happy” •