Is Reaching A Comfortable Retirement - 870 Words

Reaching retirement is one of the most important life events people will experience. How do you see yourself after retiring? Most people want to be able to retire comfortable, but the reality is that is not possible for some members of society. The reality is that for some seniors, living in poverty is potential issue. Reaching a comfortable retirement varies around the world and can be affected by gender, race, and social class. First, retirement varies according to gender. Women earn less than men in every nation. Full-time working women in the United States average only 72% of what men make and in some countries the percentage is even less (Henslin 300). Women tend to start working later in their life, usually after years of staying†¦show more content†¦Regardless of the changing times, women are earning less than men and therefore it will take them longer to be financially stable in order to reach a sustainable retirement age. Gender isn’t the only thing that affects retirement but so does an individual’s race. Retirement varies among members of society according to race. By 2030, it is projected that 25 percent of older persons will be from ethnic minority groups (â€Å"Fact Sheet†). Up to 23 percent of older African Americans and 19 percent of older Hispanics live in poverty compared with the estimated 8.9 percent older white Americans who live in poverty (â€Å"Fact Shee t†). White Americans typically have better living standards in comparison to African Americans or Hispanics. This is because white Americans are statistically more likely to finish high school and go to college. Statistically, African Americans average only 59 percent of white income and one of every five African American families makes less than $15,000 a year (Henslin 347). White Americans have more opportunities to succeed than African Americans or Hispanics that are living in America. African Americans who do the same work as white Americans make less money. Now imagine being a female and African American and approaching retirement age. Not only are they female who have lower wages than men, but they also are ethnically in a lower wage class too. Retirement is strongly