Quick Facts on Saving for Retirement and Security

• Only 46 percent of the 61 million wage and salaried women who worked in the United States as of March 2005 participated in a pension/retirement plan.
  
  
• On average, a female retiring at age 65 can expect to live another 19 years, 3 years longer than a man retiring at the same age. Savings can increase a woman's chances of having enough money to last during her retirement.
  
  
• Women are more likely to work in part-time jobs that don't qualify for a retirement plan. And working women are more likely than men to interrupt their careers to take care of family members; therefore, they may work fewer years and contribute less toward their retirement.
  
  
• By and large, women invest more conservatively than men and receive lower rates of return from their investments over time. Choose carefully where you put your money and learn how to make your investments grow. Remember, even small amounts can earn interest and add up over time.
  
  
• Matching contributions and automatic enrollment can help turn more workers into savers, while lifestyle and lifecycle funds can help workers already saving for retirement. If you work and if you qualify, join a retirement plan now.
  
  
• Majority of non-participants also say they would be more likely to participate in their employer’s retirement savings plan if the plan included a life style fund option (designed for individuals in specific age and income groups which automatically becomes more conservative as retirement nears) or a feature that automatically raises their contribution rate when they receive a pay raise.
  
  
• For every ten years you delay before starting to save for retirement, you will need to save three times as much to catch up. The earlier you start to save, the more likely you are to secure a financially sound retirement.
  
  
• View the following booklets on the Department of Labor’s, Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Web site. You may request copies by calling the publication request line on 1.866.444.EBSA (3272).
  
  
• Top 10 Ways to Prepare for Retirement [View]
• Savings Fitness: A Guide to Your Money and Your Financial Future [View]
• Taking The Mystery Out Of Retirement Planning [View]
• What You Should Know about Your Retirement Plan [View]
• QDROs - The Division of Pensions through Qualified Domestic Relations Orders [View