Postsecondary education and the well-being of women in retirement

Theoretical and empirical evidence have shown that education, especially postsecondary education, has important effects on women's social and economic status during their preretirement years. Few studies, however, have assessed if women's postsecondary education makes a difference in their economic well-being after they retire. This study examined the relationship between postsecondary education and retirement economic well-being among white and African American women. Using the 1993 Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) data, the authors found that after controlling for demographic characteristics and employment-related variables, both white and African American women with postsecondary education were better off economically and relied less on welfare income during their retirement. The article presents a re-examination of public policies such as the 1996 federal welfare reform legislation that eliminated welfare recipients' opportunity for postsecondary education.