The U.S. population includes over 23 million women aged 45 to 64 and 17 million women aged 65 and over. Their life experiences are very different from those of men. The median total income of women trails that of men at all ages. Women at all ages are twice as likely as men to be poor. Poverty among the elderly is closely associated with sole reliance on Social Security. Women receive lower Social Security benefits than men. The retirement income of women is less likely to be supplemented by pension income than that of men. Midlife and older women are much more likely to be widowed or divorced than men. Whether owning or renting, housing costs represent a burden for lower income households, female-headed households, and the very aged. More than 13 million women aged 45 or over are in the work force. Most women in dual-earner couples earn less than half the amount their spouses earn. Older women who lose their jobs stay unemployed longer than younger workers, earn less in subsequent jobs, and are more likely to become discouraged and drop out of the labor force. For women, health insurance coverage is highly dependent on both marital status and employment status. There is a strong correlation between poverty and ill health among the elderly. Midlife and older women perform caregiving functions for elderly persons that have a significant impact on both the labor force participation of midlife women and the frequency of poverty among both midlife and elderly women. (A 27-item source list is included in the document.) (CML)