Are Gays And Lesbians Less Prepared For Retirement Than Their Hetero Counterparts?
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— We hear all the time about how many Americans are nowhere near as prepared monetarily for retirement as we should be. Now there's word that gays and lesbians are even less prepared than people who identify as straight.
According to a new AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research Poll, they also face a greater challenge due to the fact that they have fewer children to care for them in their old age.
Gays and lesbians could be facing years of hardship as they grow older with 25 percent less in savings than their heterosexual counterparts to get them through their retirement.
"We have a couple of dynamics going on," said Michael Adams, Executive Director of SAGE, a national organization focused on social services for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender seniors. "One is that many gay and lesbian people experience wage discrimination over the course of their lifetimes.
He said that data indicates that gay men, over the course of their lives earn about 30 percent less than heterosexual men.
"Certain kinds of benefits have not been available to same-sex couples; pension benefits from partners, health benefits, etc., which complicate family expenses.
Making matters worse, gays are four times less likely to be parents than straight people which means the vast majority of them have no kids to assist them in their old age. It's a significant deficit in a society where adult children are the main caregivers of their elderly parents.
