Older people face Trump tariffs, leaving concerns are increasing, stock sales
Vicky Knight, a retired educator and part-time yoga instructor, says she feels she’s thinning. “I’m semi-retired,” Marietta, Georgia says her Social Security income is not enough to live, and recent stock market sales, driven by tariff uncertainty, have complicated her plans.
Katherine Gottart’s husband retired last year, but I don’t think she’ll be able to join him.
Gotthardt, 55, works part-time for $18 an hour for Virginia Community Newspaper. She is also a freelance. Gotthardt’s husband believes his retirement pension and savings can support households, including his adult son with autism, she said. But she’s not that sure.
“He wants to be able to provide to me,” she said. “But that’s realistic, at this age and age?”
The idea of being “drained” to her husband or not putting aside substantial funds for her son constantly appreciates her weight. Looking back, Gotthardt said she knows how she ended up in this state of financial unrest. Gotthardt, like many mothers in the US, worked part-time when her children were young, so she was able to care for them and missed out on full pay for several years.
Gotthardt also denounces Union Institute and University, low-residential schools based in Cincinnati. She enrolled in Union’s doctoral program in 2000, but never completed her degree. Now, Gotthardt doesn’t know if she still needs to pay off her student loan.
“I don’t know where I am,” she said. “I’m mostly afraid to ask.”
Gotthardt said she’s likely to work until she can no longer do it.
“It’s sad to know that I’m not the only one who feels this kind of pressure,” Gotthardt said.
Recent estimates from financial services companies such as Charles Schwab, Schroeders and Northwestern Mutual show that “magic numbers” to save retirements range from $1.2 million to $1.8 million, an out-of-reach target for many Americans. For women, saving for retirement may seem even more difficult, as gender pay gaps have been stagnant at 83 cents up to the dollar for the past 20 years.
Women have historically earned less than men and tend to take more time out of work due to care obligations. These losses worsen over time, putting women at an even greater disadvantage when it comes to retirement.
It’s not that “women don’t save as much as men,” said Megan Yost, senior vice president and financial wellness expert at Segal, a benefits consulting firm. That means women don’t have that much money in the first place.
A 2024 survey conducted by the National Institute for Retirement Security found that 80% of women who said the US was facing a retirement crisis determined that a typical worker would be roughly the same amount as they could not save enough to guarantee a safe retirement.
According to the US Census Bureau, more women between the ages of 55 and 66 say they have no personal retirement savings compared to men in that age group. Among those saving for retirement, women are less likely than men to have more than $100,000 in personal retirement savings. The resignation security gap is even greater for women of color, according to the Treasury Department.
Yost said there is a wave of employers offering family-friendly benefits to help even the playing field. Benefits such as paid leave, backup care, and catch-up contributions can help caregivers who need to leave work not fall too far from their peers when it comes to pay and retirement planning.
Minnesotan’s lifelong Minnesotan Beth Crute worked in public safety for 33 years, selling most of his belongings in 2020 and visiting the roads. She traveled to San Diego in a condo near the beach in Oceanside, California, before arriving in Las Vegas in St. Petersburg, Florida.
“I’m having a great time,” said Crute, 59.
Klute was eligible for pensions and began saving for retirement at the age of 21, but she wasn’t sure she could enjoy her golden year. Life threw unexpected road bumps at her, including divorce and a stage 4 bone cancer diagnosis of her teenage son.
“I knew I could lose so much,” she said.
When her son got sick, Crute was constantly worried about him and her bank account. Klute was able to take a year of paid leave to look after his son through a program that allowed employees in other states to donate extra payment times to colleagues in need. After learning that her son was getting better, she was able to start thinking about the future again.
“When I retire, I’m going to spend my lifetime. It was like the promise I gave to myself and him, that mom will start living now,” she said.
Klute said her son has now been cancer-free for 11 years. He is in graduate school and she is dancing salsa in Las Vegas.
“When women have children, they miss it.”
Klute is the exception. Less than half of the more than 1,000 women surveyed reported savings for retirement, according to a report by the National Council on Aging and the Institute for Women for Safe Retirement. About one in three women said their retirement or savings were not enough to pay their monthly bills.
“Historically, the industry hasn’t always spoken as proactively to women as possible,” said Kate Byrne, head of Vanguard Cash Plus.
Pat Archer, 72, retired in early 2019 with a savings of around $150,000. But between travel and medical costs, she said there was nothing left. Archer has diabetes and for some time she said her insulin costs around $700 a month, even with insurance.
A New Hampshire resident has been in accounting for most of her life and said she always knew she knew less than her male counterparts.
“But that was something you just accepted,” Archer said. “It was just a fact.”
Archer didn’t think much about resigning in his 20s and 30s. After several years away from work to care for her children, she worked part-time as a single mother until she was 33, missing out on a full-time wage for 10 years.
“Obviously that wasn’t enough,” Archer said. “So I missed a lot. When women have kids, they miss.”
Now Archer is back to work. She earns $16 an hour part-time as a receptionist at a support facility. Her husband can no longer work, she said.
Archer knows he is in more financial shape than some other people about to retire. Still, she’s worried. Archer is doing everything he can to reduce costs.
“Now, things are becoming more and more expensive. I shop more and more at dollar stores,” she said.
According to financial advisors, start small and take a step forward
Savings for retirement don’t have to be an additional stressor, Byrne said. Mothers may find this idea overwhelming, especially when financial planning is just one more thing to add to their endless to-do list of doctor appointments, extracurricular activities for children, and school pickup and drop-off scheduling.
But the worst thing anyone can do is leave behind the revenue that is sitting in their bank account.
Starting an investment can be easy, she said. Anyone can start by sitting down, sitting alone or with a partner and knowing your current financial situation. It is a good idea to write down future expenses, such as mortgage payments, children’s summer camps, and grocery bills. The next step is to think about long-term goals, including the preferred retirement age.
From there, Byrne said he recommends saving at least a month’s worth of expenses for the emergency fund. She suggests putting the money in a high-yield savings account and getting a compound interest benefit.
Byrne said the additional income can be invested in retirement. There is no amount that is too small to start investing. Klute said he spent at least a small amount of money from all his salary during his 33 years of retirement savings.
If it all felt overwhelming, Yost said, asked for help. Many employers offer free or low-cost financial advice as a profit.
Many women fear that they will look incompetent, Kruto said, but they shouldn’t. Her advice? Let go of that fear, ask questions, and learn as much as possible.
After her son defeated Cancer, Klute said he hired an executive consultant to help him with career decisions, such as finding new opportunities and seeking a raise or promotion.
“She gave me that extra push to help me with confidence,” Crute said.
Madeline Mitchell’s role in covering women and caregiving economy at USA Today is supported by partnership with An extremely important venture and Journalism Funding Partner. Funders do not provide editor input. You reach Madeline with memitchell@usatoday.com and @maddiemitch_ x.
