Battle of the Sexes, Retirement Round: Men received higher annual pension
payouts than women in 2005, according to the Employee Benefit Research
Institute.
Men over the age of 50 received an average annual pension payment of $18,942,
while women of the same age received only $12,190. About a quarter of men in
this age group received a pension or annuity payment in 2005, compared with 18.4
percent of women, the study says.
The difference is more pronounced among men and women over the age of 65. In
this group, men on average received $16,933, while women received $10,866. The
median annual pension or annuity income for men of this age was $12,000,
compared with $6,420 for women.
A woman age 65 or older in 2005 “was almost two-thirds as likely to receive
an annuity and/or pension payment as her male counterpart,” the report says. “If
she did receive one, her mean benefit was likely to be about 60 percent of that
received by a man in the same age group.’
The Employee Benefit Research Institute attributes the disparity to the fact
that women 50 and older have spent less time in the workforce as their male
counterparts, and those who have worked longer tended to have lower-paying
jobs.
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