Why women may bear the brunt if Social Security benefits get cut

The gender income gap remains alive and well. Just ask older women collecting Social Security.

Women, who make up more than half (55%) of Social Security recipients ages 62 and up, on average collect $5,254 less annually than men, according to a FinanceBuzz analysis of the government's latest data. Nationally, women receive an average of $1,760 monthly in Social Security, $438 less than the $2,198 men receive on average.

The disparity means looming Social Security benefits cuts in 2032 would more deeply impact women, who already collect less than men each year.

“Older women are far more likely than men to rely on Social Security to meet their basic needs,” said Courtney Anderson, social insurance legal fellow at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC). "Policymakers must strengthen and expand ‒ not weaken and cut ‒ Social Security.”   

USA TODAY reached out to the Social Security Administration for comment.

Numbers are worse for retired, single women

Already, women are more likely than men to live in poverty. Between 2023 and 2024, the poverty rate jumped to 16.2% for older women from 15.0% while remaining unchanged at 13.5% for older men, NWLC said.

Poverty worsens with age. Among all people age 65 and older, women 80 and older had the highest poverty rate of 21.0% in 2024.

By status, single women were worse off. Among women age 65 and older, single women (widowed, divorced, separated, or never married) had a poverty rate of 21.4%, compared with 10.9% for married women in the same age group, NWLC said.

"These poverty rates would be far higher without Social Security, which has protected millions of older women from falling into poverty," NWLC said in a report. "In 2024, Social Security lifted 20.0 million people age 65 and older out of poverty as measured by the Supplemental Poverty Measure, of whom nearly 11.4 million were older women, compared to over 8.6 million older men."

Why is Social Security less for women?

Since Social Security is calculated by how much workers earned during peak earning years, the gender pay gap carries over into retirement, analysts said.

According to the U.S. Census' latest 2024 data, median earnings for American women working full time are only 83% of those of their male counterparts.

"That number has been steadily improving in recent decades, but still represents a major gap in pay and career earnings between men and women," wrote Josh Koebert, senior content marketer, in the FinanceBuzz report. "Unfortunately, the impact of that divide continues to be felt long after women have retired from the workforce."

Other reasons contributing to the gap, he said, include:

• Career interruptions. Women are far more likely than men to leave the workforce to take care of children or aging parents. Each year out of the workforce can count as a zero in the benefits calculation.
• Part-time work. More women work part time than men. Part-time jobs typically carry lower wages and produce a weaker Social Security earnings record.
• Occupational segregation. Historically, female-dominated fields such as teaching, nursing, child care and administrative support have paid less than male-dominated fields.

Does where you live affect the Social Security gender gap?

The Social Security gender gap can vary dramatically from state to state, "shaped by factors such as local labor market histories and dominant regional industries," the study said.

Places with the smallest gap are:

• Washington, DC: Men in the nation's capital receive just $174 more per month than women, less than half the average national gap of $438. Women in DC are helped by federal government employment, which offers standardized pay scales and strong representation in professional roles.
• Hawaii: Social Security benefits for men are 14% higher than for women, equating to an additional $298 per month. Its diverse service economy has more women in well-compensated careers, making the gap smaller.
• New York: Men collect 16.0%, $349 per month, more in Social Security than women. The state also has a diverse service economy that boosts women into higher-wage jobs, the study said.

States with the largest gap have economies historically dominated by male-concentrated industries like energy, agriculture, mining and manufacturing, "where higher wages boosted the lifetime earnings, and therefore the Social Security benefits, of male workers for decades," Koebert said.

States with the largest Social Security gender gap are:

• Utah: Men collect an average benefit that's 27.04% higher. On average, they receive $2,400 monthly, while women receive $1,751, a difference of $649, or $7,785 annually.
• Louisiana: At a 25.9% gap, women receive $1,552 per month, the lowest average benefit for women of any state in the country, while men collect $2,094.
• Wyoming: Men's Social Security checks are 23.89% higher than women's. They receive an average of $2,311 monthly, compared with $1,759 for women.

Closing these gaps "starts with building retirement savings independent of Social Security," Koebert said.

Some of those steps include starting to save as young as possible to take advantage of compound growth, maximizing 401(k) contributions to receive company matches, considering Roth accounts to save on taxes later and keeping debt to a minimum, experts said.

Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.