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Benefits March 24, 2023
EBSA’s Gomez Highlights Retirement Pioneer During Women’s History Month
Lisa Gomez, the head of EBSA, honored Cindy Hounsell’s achievements in increasing women’s financial education and retirement security.
Reported by Remy Samuels
Lisa Gomez, the Department of Labor’s assistant secretary for employee benefits security, highlighted the achievements of retirement pioneer Cindy Hounsell in a blog post on Thursday, in honor of Women’s History Month.
After Hounsell’s employer froze the benefits in her pension plan in the early 1980s, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. took control of the plan a decade later, Hounsell became fascinated by the retirement issues women face.
Women today earn, on average, 84% of what men do, live nearly three years longer, are more likely to work in low-paying industries and more frequently reduce their work hours to take of their families, according to Gomez’s post. This motivated Hounsell to pursue a law degree, a position in Georgetown University’s Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program and a position as a fellow at the Pension Rights Center.
Hounsell then went on to create the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement in 1996.
“WISER has now become one of the leading education and advocacy organizations focused on improving women’s long-term financial security, and offers programs, publications, and research on subjects such as saving and investing, caregiving, financial scams, divorce and widowhood, and Social Security,” Gomez wrote.
WISER has partnered with the financial industry, the non-profit sector, the Social Security Administration and the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Association to provide information and education to those who need it. WISER also recently received the American Society on Aging’s Advancing Economic Security for Older Adults Award.
Hounsell found that knowledge of women’s financial issues and retirement hardships was not widespread when she created WISER. The nonprofit’s 1998 pamphlet entitled, “What Every Woman Needs to Know About Money and Retirement: A Simple Guide” gained significant traction, causing women from all over the country to sign up for WISER’s quarterly newsletter.
More work still needs to be done to provide financial education and resources to people who need it most, according to Hounsell, especially for those without workplace retirement plans and with no way to save for an emergency fund.
Women’s longevity is also a major issue affecting their plans for retirement, and Hounsell has said women need to understand how the system works to avoid experiencing financial problems in retirement.
Gomez directed people to WISER’s website to learn more about its various publications, resources and programs that aim to combat the barriers women face in retirement.