Women constitute more than two-thirds of impoverished Americans ages 55 and over, and their percentage only increases among older age brackets, according to a recent Census Bureau report. In part, it is because women outlive men. However, other factors include women’s lower earnings throughout their lives, resulting in lower or non-existent pension and Social Security benefits. Many, in fact, survive on relatively low Social Security survivor benefits. Also, the Census Bureau reported, men over 55 were more likely to have bachelor’s degrees (27 percent of men, 19 percent of women), and men over 55 were more likely to be in the paid labor force (79 percent of men, 62 percent of women). Among those 75 and over, 15.1 percent of the women were poor, compared with 7.5 percent of the men.
