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The Real Rules of Retirement for Women (and Men too!) INTRODUCTION Policy experts use the analogy of a three-legged stool to illustrate the three components needed for adequate retirement income: a Social Security retired-worker benefit, an employer sponsored pens ....

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.... meant to provide only a bare minimum of a "floor of protection" in 1996, the average Social Security benefit for retired female workers was $7452 a year, ($621 per month) – $143 above the official poverty level of older adults and almost $1,400 less than a minimum-wage income. The fact that so many elderly women rely on Social Security as their only source of income is one of the major reasons why so many elderly women are poor. Private pensions --the second leg of the retirement stool can provide an important source of income to women. However, only 13 percent of women age 65 and over are currently receiving a pension, and among that small grou ....