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INEQUALITY
ABOUT GENDER, BUT NOT WEALTH -V- POVERTY How to retire inequality, according to the CEOs of TIAA and AARP ... Businesses and policymakers need to act now to avoid leaving women vulnerable in their senior years. 
How to retire inequality, according to the CEOs of TIAA and AARP [Source photo: skynesher/Getty Images] Original article: https://www.fastcompany.com/90820679/reduce-retirement-inequality-ceo-tiaa-aarp Peter Burgess COMMENTARY This essay starts with the following: 'Every American deserves to retire with dignity and financial security.'I don't disagree with this at all ... but the idea that the people in leadership positions in America are going to actually do anything about it is wishful thinking I have started to observe that the political and other divides in the United States are not so much about 'left' and 'right' as they are between 'top' and 'bottom'. This explains how it is that some wealthy people see fit to support Republicans and some wealthy people see fit to support Democrats ... in the end both wealthy Republican supporters and wealthy Democrat supporters get what they want from the politicians and the unwealthy don't get very much, if anything. Yes ... there are pay and wealth differences between male and female, and have been 'for ever'. These differences are less now than they were in the past, but there is still a long way to go. This is an issue that should be addressed in a meaningful way. But there is no mention in this article about the difference in income and wealth between those that are at the top of the economic pyramid and those at the bottom. While the gender gap in income and wealth has been closing ... albeit slowly ... over the past 40 years, the income and wealth gap between the top and bottom of the economic pyramid has grown rapidly over the same period of time. I have some formal training in economics from Cambridge University a little more than 60 years ago. There has always been a 'distribution' of wages within an 'average' wage. A normal distribution is one where half the group earn more than the average and half the group earn less than the average. In 1980 in the United States the average wage reflected such a normal distribution, but over time this has change and now, some 40 years later, the distribution is such that only 20% have incomes higher than the average and a full 80% have incomes lower the the average ... and worse, a lot of this terrible distribution is pulled by the huge remuneration going to the top 1%. It bothers me that this terrible situation is rarely discussed in the mainstream media and not so much in what I see of academia or anywhere else. It bothers me even more than nobody with any power or influence in the corporate world or with political power seems interested in doing anything about it. Why would they? The 'very top' is doing very well, thank you very much, so don't rock the boat. The balance of the 'top' ... that is the 19% ... are also doing pretty well, and they do little or nothing either. This group has less power and influence, and I think their motivation for doing nothing is simply that doing something is likely to attract some negative repercussions and these would most likely push them down the economic pyramid potentially in a quite catastrophic way. And of course the 'bottom 80%' are struggling ... a struggle that gets more and more difficult as time goes by ... and with no end in sight. There is growing concern and anger, but nothing much that can be done about it. Politicians avoid this core economic issue ... and engage in blame games to divert attention. The GOP ... and especially Trump's GOP are past masters at this behavior, but the Democrats have been pretty wimpish as well with pretty poor messaging. Bottom line ... a progressive Democrat agenda would be good for around 80% of the electorate, and yet they only get 50% while the GOP gets about 50% as well. This make no sense ... but it is the reality. I am in my 80s ... the Biden administration has been better in the past 2 years than any administration in decades, but gets little credit for it. This is a deep and serious problem. I have tried to understand the economic flows associated with governance and legislation at the Federal level ... and it is a nightmare to sort it all out. The design of the financial numbering in the Government has nothing to do with accountability or transparency or effectiveness or anything else that matters. It is legalese on steroids ... many of thousands of pages ... really difficult to comprehend. Bottom line ... perfect for legal corruption and diversion of funds to those that have influence. I am angry ... the USA has huge resources and huge potential ... but its governance is in trouble. A very rich elite has become very powerful and has used its power to become more and more wealthy and powerful at the expense of everything else. It is a very unhealthy situation that needs to be resolved before it gets completely out of hand. I agree with the theme of the following essay ... but it simply does not go anywhere near the big problems that need addressing, and in this it is a huge disappontment. Peter Burgess | ||
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How to retire inequality, according to the CEOs of TIAA and AARP
Businesses and policymakers need to act now to avoid leaving women vulnerable in their senior years. Written by JO ANN JENKINS and THASUNDA BROWN DUCKETT Jo Ann Jenkins is the CEO of AARP and Thasunda Brown Duckett is the CEO of TIAA. 12-07-22 Every American deserves to retire with dignity and financial security. But lower earnings and widening wealth gaps are keeping far too many women from reaching that goal, which we believe is a human right. Businesses and policymakers need to act now to avoid leaving women vulnerable in their senior years. A recent AARP survey found that 25% of women ages 50 to 64 are not at all confident they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement. One major reason for many women’s lack of financial security is their reduced participation in the workforce. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women’s workforce participation rate in October was 58.0%, 12 percentage points lower than men’s. This gap has long existed because women bear a disproportionate share of family responsibilities, taking time out of the workforce to care for children or elderly relatives. The trend was exacerbated during the pandemic as nearly 2 million women dropped out of the workforce, many to help care for children learning at home. Yet even as children have returned to classrooms and workers are in high demand, there are still 808,000 fewer women in today’s workforce, according to the National Women’s Law Center, which also notes there are 693,000 more men in the labor force than in February 2020. And women’s workforce participation still lags the pre-pandemic rate of 59.3%. This workforce participation gap feeds into the pay-equity and wealth gaps. Women on average earn 83 cents on the dollar compared to men and, over a 40-year career, women stand to lose $400,000 because of the wage gap. Women of color are particularly vulnerable: Latina, Black, and Native American women will miss out on $1 million over their careers. Women’s workforce participation and earnings opportunities are also hindered by workplace discrimination. Age discrimination in the workplace, especially against women, continues to plague our society. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of women ages 50-plus feel discriminated against regularly, and two-thirds (67%) of working adult women report experiencing workplace discrimination that impacted their earning potential. Taken together, these factors limit women’s earnings and threaten their retirement security. Lower wages result in smaller Social Security checks. And women retire with a staggering 30% less retirement income than men, while living about five years longer, leaving them at greater risk of running out of money. As two CEOs leading organizations that aim to empower people to create lifetime income so that they can choose how they live as they age, we are committed to driving the changes necessary to close the retirement income gap. But we can’t do it alone. The private and public sectors must jointly confront social inequities and reverse the systemic barriers that have created and widened the workforce participation and income gaps over the years. Employers must continue removing barriers to economic security and mobility and expand access to opportunities for career advancement that can increase pay and boost retirement savings for women. They must also make pay equity a priority and regularly conduct pay audits to see and address pay gaps. Enhanced employee benefits, such as flexible workplaces, paid parental leave, and family care may also help ease the burden traditionally experienced by women, and encourage more women to join and remain in the workforce. And all employees—especially women and women of color—will also benefit from better access to financial education resources. Employers should also develop strategies to create a more age-diverse workforce so that women can spend more years working, earning, and saving for retirement. Even though many do not have a strategy in place to achieve this, they are poised for progress. In AARP’s recent survey of nearly 6,000 global companies, 83% identified a multigenerational workforce as valuable to their organization’s success and growth. Public policy can help, too. For example, AARP and TIAA both supported the SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act, which made several changes to how workers and retirees can save for retirement and help ensure their savings last a lifetime. Likewise, we advocate auto-enrollment in retirement savings plans, as well as automatic state and federal IRA programs for the 55 million U.S. workers who are not eligible for or covered by an employee-sponsored plan, the majority of whom are women. For too many women, retirement security is just another form of workforce inequality. But it doesn’t have to be. By making it possible for more women to participate fully and earn equally in the workforce, and closing the 30% retirement income gap for women, we can accelerate the pace of progress for women and society overall. Jo Ann Jenkins is the CEO of AARP. Thasunda Brown Duckett is the CEO of TIAA. MORE LIKE THIS
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