Why Are Women More Pessimistic About Social Security’s Future Than Men?

This study explores the documented propensity of women to have more pessimistic expectations than men about future economic conditions in general and Social Security retirement benefits in particular. The authors present an extensive literature review covering research in psychology, economics, and an array of factors that may underlie gender differences in Social Security expectations. Then, they focus on a 2020 survey on Social Security expectations, first presenting selected detailed results then conducting a multivariate regression analysis to test whether dispositional or socioeconomic factors exert greater influence on women’s pessimistic expectations