From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov

Transcript for: Women's Perspectives on Retirement

Description: GAO spoke to nearly 200 older women across the country to
learn more about their thoughts on retirement security. Women in all 14
focus groups said retirement security meant the ability to maintain
independence, and cited concerns about health costs and negative impacts
of a lack of personal finance education.

Related GAO Works: GAO-20-435: Retirement Security: Older Women Report
Facing a Financially Uncertain Future

Released: August 2020

[Narrator:] How am I going to afford retirement? That's a big question
for millions of Americans. But it's especially pressing for women who
are more likely to live longer, interrupt their careers to care for
others, and have lower average earnings than men. We spoke to nearly 200
older women across the country to learn more about their thoughts on
retirement security. Here's some of what we heard. Whether women felt
financially secure, often depended on their ability to be financially
independent, and on whether they had accumulated enough financial assets
to cover their future expenses.

[Respondent:] I am very comfortable. I mean, I really have been
obsessive compulsive about making sure I have money. Once I stopped
working full time, I didn't use credit cards. I didn't go into a debt
again, except for my mortgage. I didn't spend more than was coming in.

[Respondent:] With only social security as an income, you know, I've
some retirement that I have to take out a couple times a year or
something, so that's dwindling. My greatest hope is that I will not
outlive my resources.

[Narrator:] Both women who felt financially secure and those who felt
insecure, said they were worried about having enough money for future
expenses. And were particularly concerned about the cost of health care
and housing as they age.

[Respondent:] Maybe you can pay your mortgage or your rent, and you have
your food, but there's this other thing I worry about, like I need
hearing aids, I can't afford hearing aids. If I need dental care, I
can't afford dental care.

[Respondent:] I know I think about a lot is all the property taxes. It's
enormous amount of money every year and even if you got your mortgage
paid, you know, still have thousands of dollars to pay for taxes.

[Respondent:] It seems like the cost of Medicare and your insurance is,
you know, continually going up. Year after year after year.

[Respondent:] No matter how careful you try to be with your money and
you go day to day, if you get something that's really serious, you know
and you need care, that could wipe you out in a minute.

[Narrator:] Women in our focus groups largely agreed that more personal
finance education would have helped them reach financial security in
retirement.

[Respondent:] My husband had a bad surgery, we got over a million
dollars back on a lawsuit. (pffh) It's gone. Because I didn't --

[Respondent:] Didn't, yeah, have the education.

[Respondent:] I didn't have the education. I didn't have -- I spent
money. If I had money, I spent it and if I didn't, I didn't. And now I'm
really in a hole. I mean, just, we should have education, I think when
we're younger.

[Narrator:] For more on what we found about women's retirement security,
check out our report at gao.gov.