People who are unlucky or unwise could end up losing most or all of their money, placing additional burdens on SSI and other government programs that provide some safety net to poor people. Another problem with the privatizers' arithmetic is the failure to account for administrative costs. It costs a lot more to administer 150 million individual accounts than a single centralized system like Social Security. Even small increases in management costs that are assessed monthly or annually can result in a large loss of value over one's lifetime. For lower income workers who have smaller accounts, administrative costs would absorb a greater percentage of their total value.
Women of color are particularly at risk for poverty in their old age.
Overall, there is a substantial gender gap in all sources of retirement income including Social Security, pensions, savings, and post-retirement employment. The greatest disparity lies in accumulated pension wealth and savings, with Social Security credits partially compensating for this gap. Furthermore, the Social Security system is progressive. Those with lower incomes have a higher proportion of their earnings replaced, which is valuable for women since they tend to earn less than men do. Women make up the vast majority of recipients using the spousal benefit provision.