A woman’s earnings not only affect her current expenses, but also her future savings, Social Security benefits and overall comfort in retirement — a stagnant gender wage gap doesn’t help at all. But that’s where the gender wage gap is, according to a recent Pew Research Center report, which found the parity has remained about the same over the past 20 years. Women earned 82% of men’s earnings in 2022, according to the study of part-time and full-time workers. That’s only marginally better than in 2002, when women earned 80% of what men did.
While it’s still better than what the gap was in 1982, when it stood at 65%, the current status could still spell trouble for women in retirement. “They have to be extra vigilant in terms of saving,” said Stephanie Richman, a certified financial planner and regional director at EP Wealth Advisors. Less money in a paycheck could mean a lower Social Security benefit, less in a 401(k) from employee and employer contributions and not as much cash to save elsewhere for the future. Women also tend to live longer than men, so they have to stretch those savings to last their lifetimes. Younger generations are doing better. Younger women earned 8 cents less on the dollar than their m …