Why Has Poverty Declined for Widows?

TitleWhy Has Poverty Declined for Widows?
Publication TypeReport
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsMunnell, AH, Sanzenbacher, GT, Zulkarnain, A
Document NumberIB#19-4
InstitutionCenter for Retirement Research at Boston College
KeywordsPoverty, Widowhood

In the mid-1990s, the poverty rate for widows ages 65-
85 was 20 percent. Since then, it has dropped sharply.
Why did this decline occur and will it continue?
This brief, based on a recent paper, addresses these
questions by exploring three factors that could have
contributed to the decline.1
The first is the rise in
women’s educational attainment. The second is the
rise in women’s work experience. The third is shifting marriage patterns, with women of higher socioeconomic status (SES) now more likely to be married
than their lower-SES counterparts.

Citation Key10767