Political Quotes

“I rise to join with Senator Kennedy in introducing The Women's Pension Protection Act of 2002 to improve the retirement security of women. As Americans live longer, achieving financial security can be a particular challenge for women. Women live, on average, seven years longer than men but earn less money over their lifetime, and as women continue to be society's primary caregivers, they continue to lose time from the workplace during their prime earning years. The result? Just 40 percent of women have pensions, compared with 47 percent of men. Of those with pensions, women retirees receive only about half the pension benefits that men receive--on average, $4,200 annually compared to $7,800 for men. With less time to invest in their retirement, women are frequently unable to establish a solid nest egg for future years. Women sometimes rely on their spouse's pension for essential savings in later years. If a marriage dissolves, as roughly half of marriages in America have, this can deal a terrible blow to a women's retirement plans. For elderly women the situation worsens, as they are three times as likely than men to outlive their spouses. Lower pensions can make it difficult for women to make ends meet in their later years. Tragically, almost one in five nonmarried elderly women, 17 percent, live in poverty today. These facts help explain why our pension laws should reflect the reality and needs of our workforce.”