Retirement on the Edge: Women, Men, and Economic Insecurity After the Great Recession

The Great Recession dramatically altered the lives of many Americans, creating pronounced economic stress and uncertainty for both individuals and families. Even after the recession was officially declared over, unemployment levels remained persistently high, while housing values remained notably low. These circumstances led the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) to develop and analyze the IWPR/Rockefeller Survey of Economic Security, which was administered to 2,746 adults aged 18 and older between September and November 2010. The sample for the survey was stratified to yield approximately equal numbers of white, black, and Hispanic respondents, with results weighted by American Community Survey data to reflect the non-institutional, adult population of the nation. The survey included a select number of questions from earlier surveys, such as the Rockefeller Foundation’s February 2007 AmericanWorkers Survey and the National Academy of Social Insurance/Rockefeller Survey of 2009. These questions were worded the same or in similarways in the current survey to allowfor comparison between respondents’ views in 2010 and in the previous studies.

 

by Cynthia Hess, Ph.D., Jeff Hayes, Ph.D., Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D. (October 2011)