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CRR Issues Brief on the Decline in Widows’ Poverty Rates

On February 26, 2019, the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College (CRR) issued its brief, Why Has Poverty Declined for Widows? CRR analyzed the decrease in widows’ poverty from 1994-2014 based on data from the Health and Retirement Study, which is a biennial longitudinal survey of households ages 51 and older, to determine women’s education, work experience, marital status, income and demographics. 

The key findings include:

  • Since the mid-1990s, the poverty rate for widows has declined significantly.
  • In 1994, the widows’ poverty rate was 19.9% and fell to 13.2% in 2014.
  • The reduction in widows’ poverty may be mainly the result of the general increase in women’s education and work experience and a higher marriage rate among women with more education.
  • In the future, the poverty rate of women will likely continue to decline due to education and work patterns, as well as marriage selection.
  • Despite progress, widows will remain at greater risk of poverty than married women.

The brief concludes, “Projections suggest that about half of the future decline in widows’ poverty between 2014 and 2029 will be driven by the changing marital compo­sition of widows.”

The brief is available here.