New Social Security Administration data has found that women are more likely than men to experience a long-term disability, and more than half of them are not prepared for the financial burden associated with disability.

Disability rates for working women in the United States has grown more than 60 percent in the last decade, compared to 32 percent for working men. Should an accident on injury leave them unable to work, half of those women are unprepared to cover living expenses for three months or more.

Normally, there are other resources to rely on if a paycheck is not coming in, such as credit cards and home mortgages. But the current economy creates more challenges, as the housing market is collapsing and household credit card debts average $10,000.

The Council for Disability Awareness is encouraging women to prepare financially for a long-term disability in order to curb serious future financial consequences. For more information, visit disabilitycanhappen.org.

Source: “Economy woes often worse for women workers,” New Hampshire Sentinel Source, July 10, 2008.