Why Women’s Retirement Participation Rate Only Looks Lower Than Men’s

“Furthermore, when examining participation by earnings level, the proportion of females participating in a plan was the same or higher than it was for males at each earnings level,” according to the report.

The difference is most dramatic for middle-income workers. Participation rates for workers who earned less than $10,000 differed by less than one percentage point (8.1% for men, compared with 8.6% for women). In the next tier, however, workers who earned between $10,000 and $19,999, the difference is 7.9 points. Participation rates for workers in the third tier differed by 13.5 points. At higher annual incomes, participation rates level off between male and female workers.

The report notes that participation rates are affected not only by individual factors, but by larger economic factors like stock market performance and the labor market. “The downturns in the economy and stock market in 2008 and into 2009 showed a two-year decline in both the number and percentage of workers participating in an employment-based retirement plan,” according to the report. “The 2010 levels stabilized as the economy was more stable but not experiencing strong growth, so these levels were just above the lowest levels set in 1997. The economy has improved but is still stagnant, which is likely to mean the 2011 numbers will see essentially no change or a decrease.”