A New Report Shows Women Are Losing $4,800 a Year in Social Security - Here's Where It Goes Wrong

Women retire with smaller Social Security checks than men, and the gap is larger than many people realize. A new AARP report found that women receive about $4,800 less per year in Social Security retirement benefits on average. Over a retirement that lasts 20 years or more, that difference can add up to tens of thousands of dollars.

Much of the gap starts building years before anyone claims Social Security, as lower lifetime earnings and time away from work lead to smaller monthly benefits. Seeing where those differences come from can make it easier to understand how they may affect your retirement goals and what options are available before it's time to claim.

Social Security benefits are built from your highest-earning years

Social Security calculates your benefit from your 35 highest-earning years, so what you earn during your career directly determines what you collect in retirement. If you have fewer than 35 years of earnings, the missing ones go in as zeros, which pulls your average down.

Women, on average, earn less income per year than men. Federal labor data from early 2026 show that women working full time earned about 81 cents for every dollar earned by men. Women are also more likely to work part time, which can further reduce the earnings that count toward Social Security.

In 2023, median annual covered earnings were about $47,830 for men and $35,970 for women. Those differences carry through to Social Security, and earnings are only part of the reason many women receive smaller benefits.

Years spent caregiving can mean zeros in the benefit formula

Taking time away from work to care for children or aging parents can reduce future Social Security benefits. If those years leave you with fewer than 35 years of earnings, they may count as zeros in the formula used to calculate your monthly benefit.

According to AARP, about 61% of caregivers are women. Among parents with children under 18, about 95% of fathers work full time compared with 79% of mothers, and more than 5 million mothers work part time.

The Urban Institute estimates that caregiving costs mothers about $295,000 in lifetime earnings and retirement income. Those lower lifetime earnings can translate into smaller Social Security benefits, making caregiving a common reason many women retire with lower monthly checks.

Smaller savings can make claiming early more likely

Lower lifetime earnings can make it harder to build retirement savings, leaving fewer options when it's time to claim Social Security. The Department of Labor reported in early 2025 that more than four in ten working women did not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, and 15% of eligible women were not participating.

Without enough savings to bridge the gap, waiting until full retirement age is a lot to ask, and many women end up claiming early because they need the income right away. Claiming at 62 instead of waiting until 67 can permanently reduce a monthly benefit by as much as 30%, making an already smaller check even lower.

Smaller monthly checks often have to last longer

Women generally spend more years in retirement than men. According to CDC data, a 65-year-old woman can expect to live about 20.8 more years, compared with 18.4 years for a man.

That means many women are stretching a smaller Social Security check over a longer retirement. While Social Security's benefit formula helps reduce some of the difference between men's and women's lifetime earnings, it doesn't erase it. The result is a smaller monthly benefit that can continue for years after retirement begins.

Some benefits are based on more than your own earnings

Social Security offers a few benefit types beyond what your own earnings record produces. If you're married, you may be eligible for a spousal benefit worth up to 50% of your spouse's full retirement benefit. If your spouse has passed away, a survivor benefit may allow you to receive up to 100% of the benefit they were collecting.

Divorced spouses may qualify as well. If you were married for at least 10 years and are currently unmarried, you may be able to claim benefits based on your former spouse's earnings record. Your former spouse does not have to be receiving benefits yet, and your claim does not reduce the benefit they can receive.

For some women, these rules can lead to a higher monthly benefit than claiming on their own work record alone.

Additional work can still raise your benefit

If your earnings record includes years with little or no income, working longer can replace some of those years with higher earnings, increasing the average used to calculate your benefit. Even part-time work counts toward your record.

Your my Social Security account lets you review your earnings history and check for years with low or missing earnings. If you still have working years ahead of you, there's time for those earnings to become part of your record. Waiting longer to claim can also increase your monthly benefit, with the largest check available at age 70.

Bottom line

Social Security is designed to reflect a lifetime of work, which is why the gap highlighted in AARP's report often begins decades before retirement. By the time benefits start, many of the biggest factors have already been built into the calculation.

Knowing how that formula works can make it easier to spot opportunities that may still improve your future benefit and help you avoid financial mistakes along the way.