Why is poverty after 65 a woman's problem?

This paper compares the composition of family income for families with aged male and female heads to determine why poverty during old age is so heavily concentrated among the families of aged women. Data from the March 1968 and 1979 Current Population Surveys were used. The inferior economic position of women is due to deficient market incomes and dependence upon deceased husbands for private and public pensions. Policies that encourage work and insure adequate survivor benefits will raise the relative economic status of these families.