Old -age poverty in women: You should know these facts!

Old -age poverty in women: You should know these facts!

Although women in Austria enjoy a higher life expectancy than men, they are faced with considerable health and financial challenges due to poverty in old age. This is the result of a current analysis that illuminates the connection between gender, health and economic security. According to a report by krone.at it can be seen that both women and men experience the same number of healthy years of life. However, sociologist Vera Gallistl-Kassing from the University of Vienna warns that poverty is severely impairing well-being, especially in older women.

Health problems can act as a significant cost factor, especially for people in need of care. An alarming determination is that 50 % of the older people in Austria take five or more medication at the same time, which is often due to chronic diseases. Women are particularly affected: the average pension of women is only 1,313 euros gross, while men receive an average of 2,229 euros. This means that the gender Pay GAP in pensions is around 40 %-a discrepancy that shows that when the work is the same, payment is substantially lower for women.

poverty in old age and their consequences

Age poverty has serious effects on the quality of life of those affected. A study by the Labor Market Service Austria (AMS) reports that 18 % of women aged 65 and over are considered to be at risk of poverty, with a quota of 26 % particularly affected. Many women are inferior to the risk of poverty at 1,392 euros per month, which is reflected in their quality of life. Every third pensioner -prone pensioner finds her housing costs particularly stressful, which further increases the feeling of financial uncertainty.

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