For Release:  January 4, 1999

Contact: Ellen Philbin
NCWA 781-736-3943

U.S. funds new center to combat the gaping gender gap
in financial preparedness for retirement

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a three-year, $750,000 grant to remedy an alarming gender gap in retirement preparation that leaves many women indigent in their older years. The new Program on Women's Education for Retirement (POWER) will work to teach  women -- especially those at risk of falling into poverty in their later years -- they can plan for long-term financial security, emphasizing the importance of taking an active role in planning for retirement.

 "Many Americans, regardless of gender, are ill-prepared for their later years, but the bleak retirement awaiting a large number of women is especially alarming," says Phyllis H. Mutschler, executive director of the National Center on Women & Aging and chair of POWER's National Advisory Council. "By identifying and understanding the unique financial problems and barriers women face as they age, we hope to brighten this picture by educating women of all ages, with a special emphasis on those most vulnerable to elderly poverty."

POWER, a joint project of the National Center on Women & Aging and the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement, will serve as a national focal point for research, education, and policy analysis on women's retirement. Designed to reach women who have been largely ignored by the financial services industry, the project will educate women about the different resources available to help them plan for a secure retirement. The program will reach out to these women in their communities, places of worship, and workplaces.

 "There is a lack of core educational materials and programs focused on the needs of the millions of women who are living from paycheck to paycheck and struggling to keep their families afloat," says Cindy Hounsell, POWER executive director. "These are the women we hope to reach through a national series of consumer education programs."

The National Center on Women & Aging, located at the Heller Graduate School at Brandeis University, was established in 1995 to improve the lives of midlife and older women through research, policy analysis, and community education. The Center combines research with the building of community partnerships to promote the security, health, independence, and well-being of women as they age. WISER, launched in 1996 with a grant from the Heinz Family Foundation, works to improve the long-term security of millions of American women and men. As the only project to focus on the specific inequities that disadvantage women, WISER seeks to improve the opportunities for women to secure retirement benefits.

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