A national survey of women ages 25+, commissioned by the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER), finds that American women continue to face significant economic stress, and they are concerned about how to pay for health care and other daily expenses in retirement. Across demographic and party lines, women express strong bipartisan support for federal policy solutions that could help.
Women not only want Medicare to pay for in-home care but also want in-home caregivers family members to receive tax breaks.
For the second year in a row, What Women Say™: Insights and Policy Solutions for Lifelong Security asked women about their financial situation today and how they feel about their future. This year’s survey also included a new set of questions about women’s health. The online poll—conducted by the bipartisan team of Public Opinion Strategies and Lake Research Partners—also explored women’s support for 12 potential policy solutions.
“Health and financial security are the bedrocks of a good quality of life—regardless of age,” said Ramsey Alwin, NCOA President and CEO.
“The survey points to ways we can change women’s retirement prospects,” said Cindy Hounsell, President of WISER. “We can remove the barriers and improve the safety net that so many low- and moderate-income women depend on. We can increase access to retirement plans and provide outreach and information to help women improve their financial decision-making. Clearly, we must begin to make the future more secure for women of all ages and incomes.”
Support for Policy Solutions
The survey asked women to express their level of support for 12 potential policy solutions, understanding that these new solutions would likely have a cost associated with them and may require new federal government spending or reductions in spending on other federal programs in order to pay for them. Across party and demographic lines, vast majorities of women supported the solutions. The top 8 include:
Medicare proposals
- Expand Medicare coverage, so beneficiaries have access to the full range of care and treatments for serious chronic diseases. (69% strongly support, 95% total support)
- Improve Medicare and Medicaid to better ensure that older adults have the option to receive care at home rather than having to go into a nursing home. (68% strongly support, 94% total support)
- Strengthen Medicare efforts to help low-income older adults sign up for benefits they are eligible for but are not currently receiving. (67% strongly support, 94% total support)
- Strengthen Medicare by adding health promotion and disease prevention programs to help people better manage their chronic diseases, lessen their risk of falls, and reduce social isolation. (65% strongly support, 94% total support)
Non-Medicare proposals
- Provide a tax break to family caregivers to help cover the out-of-pocket costs of providing care to a seriously ill, disabled, or elderly loved one. (66% strongly support, 96% total support)
- Modernize and update the federal Supplemental Security Income program that pays monthly benefits to people with limited income and resources who are disabled, blind, or age 65 or older. (66% strongly support, 94% total support)
- Provide government assistance to lower income older adults to help pay for basic needs, such as food, housing, and transportation. (64% strongly support, 93% total support)
- Address elder care and disability care workforce shortages by ensuring that home care workers receive a livable and competitive wage of at least $18-$20/per hour along with health insurance, retirement, and other key employment benefits. (62% strongly support, 92% total support)
“For six of the policy proposals we tested in 2023 and 2024, the intensity of support increased,” said Celinda Lake, President, Lake Research Partners. “Clearly, women know what they need, and they are likely to vote with these issues in mind.”