Colvin Says Women Need To Save

     From National Public Radio:

The Social Security Administration distributes retirement benefits to nearly 60 million Americans. And of those beneficiaries, nearly 60 percent are women.

The SSA is led by a woman, too. Carolyn Colvin was once retired herself, collecting benefits from the agency she now serves. A call from President Obama brought her back in 2010, and she recently took over as acting commissioner. As part of Morning Edition's look at the, Colvin spoke with Kelly McEvers about how women plan for financial security.

Colvin points out two realities she hopes women consider when . First, women make less money than men on average; when they stop working, their monthly Social Security checks are smaller, too.

Also, women tend to live longer than men. Colvin encourages women to estimate their own life expectancy with the, and find out more. Doing so, she says, often makes women realize they can outlive their savings — and that retirement benefits alone won't be enough.