Purely as a result of gender, women bear some financial burdensto a greater degree than men. Specifically here are the burdensthey face:

• U.S. women currently are living 4.8years longer than men from birth, according to the Social SecurityAdministration. At age 65, a female has a 32.6% probability ofliving at least to age 90, compared toa 21.2% probability for a male of the same age. This longevityadvantage means that women bear the burden of having toplan for longer retirements. Most married women need to plan forthe possibility of outliving a spouse and having to make financialdecisions alone at some point.

• Due to a combination of lower historic wages and time taken offfrom work to raise children, today’s retired women qualify forlower Social Security retirement benefits on average than men. In2015, the average annual benefit received by women age 65 or olderwas $13,500, compared to $17,600 for men.

• Several studies have indicated that women are more likely thanmen to become responsible for the financial, emotional and medicalcare of elderly parents or their own spouses.

• Women are more likely to be single, widowed or divorced and livealone at older ages. Elderly women who lack a care-giving companionhave a greater probability of spending part of their old age in anursing home.

Given these realities, it’s a good idea to tailor retirementplanning education and communications for women’s special needs.Here are a few ideas.

• Offer to help employed women evaluate their retirement plans atwork, and focus on maximizing the rate of savings (includingemployer contributions) in addition to the rate of investmentearnings.

• Always ask women clients and prospects if they haveself-employment or freelance income, and suggest the advantages ofincreasing contributions via SEP-IRAs, SIMPLEs, or personalIRAs.

• Help women over the age of 50 take advantage of catch-upcontributions available in employer-sponsored IRAs and personalIRAs. For 2015, the catch-up is $6,000 in a 401(k), $3,000 in aSIMPLE, and $1,000 in personal IRAs (Traditional or Roth).

• Open discussions with women on topics such as theirattitudes about whether they could make financial decisions alone(without a spouse), and how confident they feel about maintaininglifestyles over long retirements. Make sure to explain options forlong-term care insurance (LTCI).

• If possible, help women understand their Social Securitybenefits, and educate them on their employer plan investment andtransfer/rollover options. In short, integrate all of theirretirement income sources into a holistic plan for retirementincome and longevity protection.

The National Women’s Law Center recently published aninformative fact sheet on Women and Social Security, and you canfind it at their website.