Excerpt: Since women generally live longer than men, earn less, are less likely to have a significant pension, and lose more years of retirement-building income when they stop working to raise kids or take care of parents, they depend more on Social Security when they retire. Most over 85 are women. It is the only source of income for 29 percent of unmarried female seniors. Seventy percent of all Social Security beneficiaries older than 85 are women.