The gender pay gap affects women with children more

 An interesting idea surfaced about the issue of the gender pay gap that I had not thought about when I was watching the Netflix series “Explained”. The idea is that women who have children are discriminated against for being caregivers. Women who do not have children appear to not have as large of a wage gap as women who have children. This idea has some merit and means that social policy can be used to correct the problem. In Iceland, they have a government program that allows men to take Paternity leave when a child is born. In fact, if the male does not take the leave the family is hurt. According to the Social Security Administration’s 2021 Fast Facts and Figures publication, the monthly benefit of retired women workers was $1,378 per month, compared with $1,714 per month among retired men workers.

I have talked about the gender pay gap during working years. When we look at the gender pay gap in terms of Social Security benefits, retired women are earning about 80 cents per dollar of retired men. In this day and age, $1,378/month just doesn’t go that far. In certain parts of the country, it won’t even cover the cost of renting a 1-bedroom apartment.

Statistically, women live longer than men. According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, the life expectancy of a 65-year-old woman today is 20.1 additional years, compared with only 17.4 additional years for a 65-year-old man. That means a 65-year-old woman today is likely to live almost three years longer than her male counterpart. So, because women are likely to live longer, we need to plan for more time in the workforce and/or longer retirements.

The first step in solving a problem is recognizing there is a problem and understanding the full dimensions of that problem. Iceland took from the 1980s until the mid 2,000 to open up their thinking and programs to both men and women. It is a model that could be instructive to other western nations. The good news is progress has been made in recent decades, but clearly, there is much more work to be done.

Public policy plays a vital role in addressing structural issues, including continued efforts to bridge the gender pay gap, increasing access to employer benefits to part-time workers, and recognizing (and monetizing) the value of parenting and caregiving.

Until the government decides to give more value to parenting and caregiving, as an individual you could:

·       assess your current financial situation and create a budget. Develop a retirement strategy and write it down.

a.  This may sound really basic, but most people are not doing this yet. If you think about it, it is impossible to reach a destination if you don’t have a roadmap. And that’s what your financial plan and strategy gives you…a roadmap.

·       Consider health, welfare, and retirement benefits when looking at a new job and if you are considering changing your status to working part-time.

a.  These are important benefits that are part of your overall compensation package. They bring insurance protections and the ability to save for retirement. If your employer offers a retirement plan with a matching contribution, take advantage of it.

·       If faced with parenting or caregiving responsibilities, carefully consider any changes to your employment situation – and consider working part-time.

a.  This can help you stay in the game, as an option, versus giving up employment altogether.

·       Knowledge is power.

a.  Become educated and savvy about retirement investing, strategies for drawing down savings in retirement/retirement income, and when to start claiming Social Security.

b.  These decisions can profoundly influence your financial situation when you retire.

·       Build emergency savings and create a backup plan in the event of life’s unforeseen circumstances.

a.  These could range from everything from separation or divorce or loss of a spouse/partner to health issues and being unable to work until your planned retirement.

·        The last idea that I want to leave you with is that we have to start talking about this. I invite you to start a conversation about retirement security and specifically about the vulnerabilities among women with other women and with your government representatives

 

institutional ageism

 A few months ago, I was invited to a meeting by the local Member of Parliament to talk about what the group Wilson Senior Advisory does for seniors. The meeting was scheduled and included other organizations in the Tri-Cities that deal with seniors and their issues. I was appreciative of the offer to speak. I did and the message appeared to be well received. What struck me while watching a great Netflix series called “Explained”. In one of the episodes, they talk about why how interact with each other in an episode called Political Correctness Explained. One of the points that was made is that we like to deal with people and ideas that are the same as us, and we don’t like change.

When I was at the meeting dealing with senior issues, I realized that I was the only senior, (over 65) all of the other groups were represented by younger people (under 55) and I realized that seniors will have a problem getting their ideas through because the people running the programs do not understand at a practical level the issues we deal with at times. They understand them on a theoretical level, which is good for a time.

I am dealing with this in the opening of our new community center, as the programmers and the managers are all under 50 and therefore have an understanding but not a clear understanding of issues. For example, the programmers have put senior programs into the facility from morning until 3:00 and they have opened up the rooms to youth and ended all senior programs at 3:00. The assumption they are making is that by 3:00 seniors need to rest and therefore programming for them after 3:00 is a waste of time as the programs will not be filled. A form of institutional ageism.

However, as I thought about this, I realized that seniors have an opportunity to encourage the city to set up some intergenerational programming from 3:00 to 6:00, so rather than the seniors being kicked out at 3:00, or having to move, and youth taking over, perhaps there is another way, and we can use the time to set up intergenerational programming working with the youth.  I will let you know how the city and the seniors react to the idea.

 

Some stuff for the kids

 CNN Science reports some interesting and curious information. Here are some articles from October.

As humans, it appears we have a long history of indulgences.

Archaeologists uncovered a 1,500-year-old wine factory in the Israeli town of Yavne after toiling away at the site for two years. A famous brand of wine from the ancient world was likely made at the world's largest wine factory from the Byzantine period, they said.

Meanwhile, researchers studying fossilized poop discovered that Iron Age Europeans enjoyed blue cheese and beer in their diet. 

And charred seeds found in a hearth once belonging to hunter-gatherers in Utah suggest humans used tobacco over 12,000 years ago -- 9,000 years earlier than previously thought.

Stunning photos revealing our wonderfully wild world have won in 19 categories of the 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. 

Photographers from 95 countries submitted a record-breaking 50,000 entries, with shots including a gorilla enjoying a rain shower and a tent spider's web as an auto-rickshaw passed by in India (which was captured by a 10-year-old).

And enjoy a peek at the cuter side of wild animals with this litter of adorable newborn cheetahs.

Five cubs were born to cheetah mom Rosie Tuesday morning at Virginia's Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. You can watch the feline family via the Cheetah Cub Cam, which features live footage of the den. If you listen closely, you can hear the cubs chirping.

Capture nature's fleeting moments yourself with this portable instant camera. Our partners at CNN Underscored, product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, suggest the Polaroid Go Instant Mini Camera. Use the small prints to make a fun photo collage.

An outburst of cosmic explosions has been traced back to a mysterious repeating fast radio burst in space called FRB 121102. Researchers detected 1,652 bursts over the course of 47 days. 

Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are millisecond-long emissions of radio waves in space. This one has been traced to a small dwarf galaxy over 3 billion light-years away. 

Scientists have yet to determine the actual cause of the flashes, and, naturally, everyone has a theory (greetings, aliens!). But researchers suspect these celestial phenomena as the more likely cause.

You never know what you'll find: 

An Australian-made rover will land on the moon in 2026 and collect lunar soil that may contain oxygen, which NASA hopes to extract.

These carved stone statues were used as garden ornaments -- until it was revealed that they were Egyptian relics dating back thousands of years.

Preparing for Retirement

There are many things you should consider before you retire, here is a checklist for some (but not all) of the things you should consider

Maintain a personal pension file of your’ Pension Plan if you have one, and Canada Pension. Plan statements and information. Include any collective agreement provisions for retirement gratuities, incentives, and health benefits continuation.

Familiarize yourself with your Pension Plan (if you have one). Attend a pension seminar several times throughout your career.

Attend a pension seminar early in your career, in mid-career, and in the year before your retirement date.

If you have served in any other pension plans for example, the College, Municipal, Public Service, ICBC or WCB pension plans, and did not take a refund, check with that plan as to your accrued benefits and options.

If you have service in a pension plan in another Canadian province/territory and did not take a refund, check with that plan as to your accrued benefits and options.

Update your will, power of attorney, representation agreement and/or medical directive.

Within the timelines of the provisions of your local collective agreement, apply for any retirement gratuity to which you may be entitled.

At age 60, if you are not working, consider applying for your Canada Pension Plan pension. For an application kit, visit the CPP website at: catalogue.servicecanada.gc.ca/apps/EForms/pdf/en/ISP-1000.pdf (This will download the document to your computer to fill out)

At age 65, apply for Old Age Security (OAS). For an application kit, visit the OAS website at: catalogue.servicecanada.gc.ca/apps/EForms/pdf/en/ISP-3550.pdf This will download the document to your computer to fill out)