Gender is big factor in pension gap

Gender is a strong factor in determining the likelihood of whether a worker 50 or older receives an annuity or a company-sponsored pension payment, according to a recently released study. The study, from the nonpartisan Washington-based Employee Benefit Research Institute, showed that women 50 or older in 2006 were much less likely than men to receive an annuity or pension income. If they did receive such income, it was likely to be a much smaller amount, the study found. In 2006, 44.6% of men 65 or older received an annuity or pension income, with a mean amount of $17,200 a year. Meanwhile, just 28.4% of women 65 or older received an annuity or pension income, with a mean amount of $11,142 annually. In the future, however, women will be more likely to receive larger amounts because they are spending more time in the work force than did women in previous generations, the study found. Yet the gender gap will still likely be an issue. Younger women today spend less time in the labor force than men of similar ages and tend to have lower-paying jobs. The data used by EBRI were tabulated from last March's Current Population Survey, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The monthly survey of about 50,000 households is conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.