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Delaying Social Security retirement benefits can dramatically increase monthly benefit checks.
Yet many people do not wait to claim benefits, either because they cannot or would prefer not to.
Experts say some preferred reasons that people give for claiming early often don’t hold up under scrutiny.

Alessandro Biascioli | Istock | Getty Images

When it comes to claiming Social Security retirement benefits, experts agree it’s generally best to delay.
Yet many people still claim early — either at the earliest possible age of 62 or before their full retirement age.

Those early claims result in reduced Social Security benefits for life.
To get 100% of the benefits you’ve earned, you need to wait until full retirement age — between age 66 and 67, depending on your date of birth.
To get the highest benefit, retirees need to wait to claim until age 70.
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Understandably, some people cannot delay — either due to poor health or financial circumstances.

Yet research also shows many people claim early because they are worried about the program’s future, or they mistakenly feel that can help them get the most of their benefits.
In response to a recent CNBC article on why even waiting a few months to claim benefits can help, some readers had a strong reaction.
“It’s already highway robbery,” one reader wrote. “You just don’t want them [beneficiaries] getting their money back, do you?”
Nevertheless, experts maintain waiting to claim is generally a beneficial strategy.
“In the grand scheme of things, delaying claiming Social Security is one of the safest things that you could probably do to protect yourself over time,” said David Blanchett, head of retirement research at PGIM DC Solutions, the global investment management business of Prudential Financial.
Here’s what experts say to the most common arguments for claiming Social Security benefits as soon as possible.

Investing in the market

“If an individual starts collecting at age [62] and puts the benefits in a S&P index fund for 8 years that individual would be way ahead of postponing collection until the age of 70,” another CNBC reader wrote.
With the S&P 500 index up about 26% in the past year, it is tempting to think just investing in a fund that tracks that index can bring in more money than delaying Social Security.
But there are no guarantees returns will be high.
While the markets may go up an average 10% per year, that amounts to just 7% after factoring in inflation, according to Blanchett. For a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds, a 5% annual return expectation is more reasonable. In some years, the market may fare better and in others it may be worse.

An individual who waits until age 70 to claim Social Security benefits will receive a benefit of about 77% higher than what they would receive at age 62, according to Blanchett’s research. For every year retirees delay from full retirement age, they may get an 8% benefit boost.
To best gauge the trade-off, experts say it’s most accurate to compare delaying Social Security to investing in bonds rather than equities. The advantage of Social Security benefits is that they are adjusted for inflation and pay income for the rest of a beneficiary’s life.
“If I were going to compare Social Security, I should be comparing to bond yields,” said Joe Elsasser, a certified financial planner and founder and president of Covisum, a Social Security claiming software company.
“If I were comparing to bond yields, then delaying Social Security all of a sudden appears much more reasonable,” he said.

Pass on money to heirs

“You can’t pass your Social Security onto heirs while your 401(k) can be, so [it’s] best to take Social Security early and withdraw less from your 401(k),” a CNBC reader wroe.
When planning for how to coordinate Social Security with other assets, it’s important to consider how other factors — such as longevity and taxes — will affect your retirement income.
“People notoriously underestimate their own life expectancy,” Elsasser said.
If you live longer, bigger Social Security benefit checks will help preserve your standard of living, which may help protect other assets in your later years.
For tax efficiency, it generally makes sense to delay Social Security, Elsasser said.
Withdrawals from traditional 401(k) plan accounts may be treated less favorably than Social Security, where only up to 85% of benefits are subject to federal taxes.
Consequently, it helps to have more Social Security income.
“For many people, delaying Social Security can create a much more tax efficient overall retirement, even if it’s not more tax efficient in the short term,” Elsasser said.

Break-even age

“The person who withdraws at 62 will have the same amount of [money] as the person who withdraws at 72 by the time they both reach 78, their expected date of death,” another CNBC reader wrote. “You only make out if [you] beat the odds and live longer.” The reader referenced “72,” but the highest age to wait for bigger benefits is age 70.
Many Social Security claimants tend to focus on a “break-even age” — the point at which they personally would make out the same if they delay or claim early.
To benefit from delayed claiming, they would have to live past their estimated break-even age.
Yet experts say it’s best to base a claiming decision on an individual’s entire financial situation rather than one metric.
Break-even age can be a valuable reference point, Elsasser said.
But claimants also need to consider their own longevity, he said, which may be better than their parents’ due to improved health care and financial resources.
When couples are making a claiming decision, a higher wage earner needs to consider the longevity of both individuals, which often also supports delayed claiming, according to Elsasser.

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There was a 44% year-over-year increase in the number of Roth conversions during the first quarter of 2024, according to Fidelity Investments. 
Roth conversions transfer pretax or nondeductible individual retirement account funds to a Roth IRA, which provides future tax-free growth.
But “it isn’t a slam dunk for everyone,” because of the upfront tax bill, according to Marianela Collado, a certified financial planner, certified public accountant and CEO of Tobias Financial Advisors.

Noam Galai / Noamgalai.com | Moment | Getty Images

Roth individual retirement account conversions are up in 2024 — but there are key things to know before converting funds, experts say.
There was a 44% year-over-year increase in the number of Roth conversions during the first quarter of 2024, according to data from Fidelity Investments. 

Roth conversions transfer pretax or nondeductible individual retirement account funds to a Roth IRA, which provides future tax-free growth.
However, “it isn’t a slam dunk for everyone” because it takes time for tax-free growth to exceed your upfront tax bill, said Marianela Collado, a certified financial planner and CEO of Tobias Financial Advisors in Plantation, Florida.
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Investors need “sufficient assets” outside of retirement accounts to cover the upfront tax bill, warned Collado, who is also a certified public accountant.
You’ll also need to weigh how the additional income during the year of the conversion impacts eligibility for certain tax breaks. Higher earnings can also trigger income-related monthly adjustment amounts, or IRMAA, for Medicare Part B and Part D premiums down the line. (IRMAAs for a given year are typically determined based on your tax return from two years prior.)

Of course, the tax consequences hinge on how much you convert and your tax brackets for the year.

The best time for a Roth conversion

Despite the upfront tax bill, strategic Roth conversions can significantly reduce lifetime taxes or help with legacy goals, said Ashton Lawrence, CFP and director at Mariner Wealth Advisors in Greenville, South Carolina. 
Typically, Roth conversions are attractive during a stock market pullback because you can convert more shares and “you’ll have more tax-free growth on the bounce back up,” Lawrence said.

Roth conversions are also more popular during lower-income years because you’ll owe less upfront taxes on the converted balance. Key opportunities could include after a job layoff or early in retirement before you claim Social Security and start taking so-called required minimum distributions, or RMDs.
Since Congress eliminated the stretch IRA, more investors are eyeing Roth conversions for legacy planning. Since 2020, certain heirs must empty inherited IRAs within a 10-year window, which could mean hefty taxes during “peak earning years,” Lawrence said.
“Nobody likes paying taxes if they don’t need to,” he added.

Older investors can minimize the ‘tax time bomb’

Many baby boomers have a sizable pretax retirement balance because after-tax Roth accounts weren’t available early in their careers, experts say.
In some cases, Roth conversions can help avoid the “tax time bomb” once investors reach the RMD age, according to CFP Wes Battle with Financial Advantage Associates in Rockville, Maryland.  
“Roth conversions are great for multiple reasons,” including tax diversification, possible lower RMDs and inheritance planning, he said.
Some investors also aim to leverage conversions now while there are lower tax brackets. Higher individual tax brackets are scheduled after 2025 once provisions sunset from former President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul. However, the future of those tax breaks is unclear with pending control of the White House and Congress. More

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Semler Scientific, a little-known medical technology company, saw its shares surge Tuesday after it said it has adopted bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, taking a page out of MicroStrategy’s playbook.
The company, which develops products used in the detection of peripheral arterial disease, also announced a purchase of 581 bitcoins for about $40 million, inclusive of fees and expenses.

The stock soared 37% Tuesday, while bitcoin traded lower by about 2%, according to Coin Metrics. Semler, which has a market capitalization of about $210 million, is down more than 30% this year.
“Our bitcoin treasury strategy and purchase of bitcoin underscore our belief that bitcoin is a reliable store of value and a compelling investment,” Eric Semler, Semler’s chairman, said in a statement.

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Semler Scientific surges after announcing bitcoin treasury strategy

“We believe it has unique characteristics as a scarce and finite asset that can serve as a reasonable inflation hedge and safe haven amid global instability,” he added. “Given the gap in value between gold and bitcoin, we believe that bitcoin has the potential to generate outsize returns as it gains increasing acceptance as digital gold.”
The move puts Semler in the same company as MicroStrategy, which began employing an aggressive bitcoin-buying strategy in 2020 and has primarily traded as a proxy for the crypto’s price since then. That stock is up about 163% this year.
MicroStrategy launched as a provider of enterprise software. This February, the company said it would shift its company focus and brand to bitcoin development.

On Tuesday, Semler said the company will continue to focus on its core medical products and services, and that as it continues to generate revenue and free cash flow from sales of its blood flow tests, it will proactively evaluate its use of excess cash.
Tesla and Block are also among the companies that keep some amount of bitcoin on their balance sheets.
Bitcoin is up 60% this year and is trading near its record. Many see adoption by corporate treasuries as a better indicator of intuitional adoption, versus big-name funds holding and potentially trading the cryptocurrency.
The trend has yet to take off in a big way, however, due to regulatory uncertainty and ESG considerations.

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Buy now, pay later plans are the second-most used form of credit payment among U.S. consumers, according to NerdWallet.
“It’s absolutely become popular,” said Sara Rathner, a travel and credit cards expert at NerdWallet.

Woman at home looking at the bills and taxes. 
Hirurg | E+ | Getty Images

As buy now, pay later programs become more common, some shoppers are using this payment structure to make ends meet.
Americans owe $17.5 trillion across credit cards, mortgages, auto loans and other forms of debt, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. About $1.12 trillion of that is on credit cards.

Buy now, pay later, or BNPL, loans often don’t appear on a credit report, serving as a kind of “phantom debt” that’s not reflected in those tallies.
Such short-term financing plans are the second-most used form of credit payment among consumers in the U.S., according to a new report by NerdWallet.
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Credit cards are the most commonly used form of credit, with 66% of respondents using them in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, 25% said they had used BNPL services in the last 12 months. NerdWallet polled 2,061 U.S. adults in early April.
“It’s absolutely become popular,” said Sara Rathner, a travel and credit cards expert at NerdWallet.

BNPL programs often do not require a credit check or an application process, she said, making the use of these plans “so seamless that it’s very easy for consumers to adopt.”
Far fewer consumers, about 10%, had used a cash advance app in the last 12 months, according to the results of the survey. About 6% said they used a payday loan in the last 12 months, NerdWallet found.
As staple items, such as groceries, remain expensive, and borrowing costs are still high, some shoppers are turning to BNPL to pay for essentials, such as personal care items. About 8% of adults in the NerdWallet survey said they used BNPL for necessities. An equal share, 8%, expect to use BNPL for necessities in the coming 12 months.
“As the cost of items that we all need to buy has gone up, it’s become a way to pay for these necessities,” Rathner said. 
While this type of line of credit has become a lifeline for many consumers, some changes to the payment structure are on the horizon.

A ‘consumer-friendly change’

BNPL firms might soon be required to comply with federal protections that cover credit card use in the U.S.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced on May 22 that such companies must provide customer protections like refunds for returned products, look into merchant disputes and pause payments during such investigations. They must also provide bills with fee disclosures.
“This is a consumer-friendly change,” said Ted Rossman, a credit card analyst at Bankrate.com.
He said that returns and disputes are a “notable pain point” for consumers. About 18% of U.S. adults have had difficulties returning items or getting a refund through a BNPL plan, according to an April Bankrate survey.
Some BNPL plans already have such provisions in place if a consumer needs to make a return.
“It depends on the provider,” Rathner said.

But the BNPL space needs “some consistency and some predictability,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree.
“For many years, buy now, pay later was a bit of a wild, wild West situation,” he said, as one BNPL service might operate differently to another.
Klarna replied to the CFPB announcement with a statement indicating the firm already provides such protections for users.
“To some degree, it may be wise to put some regulation around this,” Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder of BNPL firm Klarna, said in a May 24 appearance on CNBC’s “Money Movers.”
“But they have to put that in perspective of how good of a product is this for consumers’ best interest versus credit cards,” he added.

‘Nobody should expect that to continue to fall’

While Americans’ credit card debt is down from $1.129 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Fed data, it’s still the highest figure since 1999.
“Nobody should expect that to continue to fall going forward into the year,” said LendingTree’s Schulz.
About 44% of credit cardholders carry balances from month to month, Bankrate found. “That’s where we worry,” said Rossman.
Unloading the debt is not easy. Delinquencies are at a new high since late 2011, said Rossman, while 8% of surveyed cardholders have been in debt for a year or more, per Bankrate data.
However, the industry seems to interpret the data as a return to normal, he said. Lenders expected delinquencies to rise because they were “artificially low” during the Covid-19 pandemic due to the federal stimulus income, he said.
But it remains an issue at an individual level, said Rossman.
Low-income households, parents of minor children and younger consumers are bearing the brunt. About 38% of cardholders who make $100,000 a year or more carry a balance, while 56% of cardholders who earn $50,000 or lower carry a balance, Bankrate found.

Parents of minor children are more likely, 61%, to have paid a late fee over the past year than adults without children, 28%, NerdWallet found.
And 12% of Gen Z adults, or those age 18 to 27, used BNPL to pay for necessities in the past 12 months, NerdWallet found. A similar share, 11%, of the cohort expect to do so in the next year.
With more changes to BNPL structures expected to materialize in the coming months, it’s important for consumers to understand the terms before they use such financing, experts say.
“You always want to know what your rights are, and that’s something to study up on before you’ve committed financially,” Rathner said.

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Women and Wealth Events
Your Money

Equal pay day comes later for Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander women.
An AAPI, or AANHPI, woman has to work 15 months to earn what a white man makes in one year, according to the National Women’s Law Center.
Based on today’s wage gap, that will add up to over $1 million in losses over a 40-year career for some groups, according to the center’s analysis.

March 12 is generally considered equal pay day, the mark of just how far into the new year women have to keep working to make what their male counterparts typically made in just the previous year. That difference is known as the gender pay gap.
However, for some groups that date comes much later.

For Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women, they’ll have to work until April 3 to make the same pay white men earned the year before.
In other words, an AAPI woman has to work 15 months to earn what a white man makes in one year, according to an analysis by the National Women’s Law Center. But that doesn’t tell the whole story, said Sarah Javaid, the NWLC’s research analyst. 
“The discrimination that many Asian women face can be really different depending on their cultural background,” she said.

The wage gap varies among AAPI groups

Although AAPI — also referred to as AANHPI — communities together constitute some of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the U.S., “systemic barriers to equity, justice and opportunity put the American dream out of reach of many,” according to the Biden administration.
Together, AAPI women are typically paid just 93 cents for every dollar paid to white men, although the pay gap varies significantly for some AAPI communities.

For example, Bhutanese women working full time earn just 49 cents for every dollar white men earn.

Over time, that inequality is magnified. Based on today’s wage gap, an AAPI woman just starting out will lose $187,616 over a 40-year career, according to the NWLC’s analysis.
For some groups the losses are much greater. The lifetime wage gap totals more than $1.4 million for Bhutanese women. Burmese women stand to lose more than $1.2 million because of the wage gap, Nepalese women over $1.1 million, and Hmong, Cambodian, and Laotian women more than $1 million over the course of their careers, the nonprofit advocacy group found.
“That really short-changes them in their entire life,” Javaid said. “When women don’t have that money they can’t invest in wealth-building opportunities,” she added, such as buying a home, paying for their children’s education or saving for retirement.

More from Women and Wealth:

Here’s a look at more coverage in CNBC’s Women & Wealth special report, where we explore ways women can increase income, save and make the most of opportunities.

And even then, there is a long-term impact that is beyond measure. “We can’t quantify what we don’t know they’ve missed out on,” Javaid said.
There are other groups of AANHPI women working full time who make more than white men, including Chinese women, Indian women, Malaysian women and Taiwanese women; however, these women still make less than men in their respective communities, the report also found. 

‘Disparity thrives in pay secrecy’

There are initiatives that can help narrow the gap, Javaid noted, such as the Paycheck Fairness Act, which aims to eliminate pay discrimination and strengthen workplace protections for women, and pay transparency laws, which require employers to list their minimum and maximum salary ranges on publicized job postings.
“Disparity thrives in pay secrecy,” Javaid said.
The idea is that pay legislation will bring about pay equity, or essentially equal pay for work of equal or comparable value, regardless of worker gender, race or other demographic category.
However, “there is no one solution that is going to close this gap,” she added. “The key is using multiple different strategies.”
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If you’re self-employed, hiring your kids could provide tax benefits.
You could deduct wages as a business expense and fund your child’s Roth individual retirement account.
However, you need to understand state and federal labor and tax laws first, experts say.

Mixetto | E+ | Getty Images

If you’re self-employed, hiring your kids could provide tax benefits — provided you follow labor laws and IRS rules, experts say.  
Small businesses hiring their own children is a popular topic among social media influencers on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. But tax professionals say they are often battling misinformation from such posts.

“Most of the videos on TikTok have a kernel of truth to them, but they’re embellished or it only makes sense in very specific situations,” Matt Metras, a Rochester, New York-based enrolled agent and owner of MDM Financial Services, previously told CNBC.
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“But when you have a 60-second video, you aren’t trying to convey that nuance,” Metras said.
If you’re planning to hire your children this summer, here are some key things to know, according to financial experts.

Employing your kids can be ‘tax-savvy’

“Hiring your child can be a tax-savvy move,” said certified financial planner Sean Lovison, founder of Philadelphia-area Purpose Built Financial Services. “Their wages can be deducted as a business expense, which can lead to significant savings for your small business.”

For 2024, the federal standard deduction for single filers is $14,600.
“If your child’s income falls within the limits, they may not owe any income tax, which can be a win-win,” said Lovison, who is also a certified public accountant.
Plus, payments to children may avoid Medicare and Social Security taxes, depending on the child’s age and your legal business structure, according to the IRS. 

If your child’s income falls within the limits, they may not owe any income tax, which can be a win-win.

Sean Lovison
Founder of Purpose Built Financial Services

Once your child has “earned income,” or wages from employment, they can make Roth individual retirement account contributions, which can be powerful for younger savers, experts say.
There’s a triple-tax benefit for kids: They typically pay little to no taxes on contributions, plus growth is levy-free and withdrawals are generally tax-free in retirement, according to CFP Carol Fabbri, managing partner of Fair Advisors in Conifer, Colorado.
“It is never too early to get in the habit of saving,” she added.
However, you need to watch the contribution limit for 2024, which is your child’s total earnings or $7,000, whichever is smaller.

What to know before hiring your kids

Before hiring your children, it’s important to know state and federal labor laws, along with tax rules, experts say.
“Some states pretty much ban you from hiring children under the age of 14 under any scenario,” Lovison said.
If hired, your children must do real work for the business, and their compensation should be reasonable to match their tasks.
“Record-keeping is non-negotiable,” Lovison said. “It not only helps you navigate the tax landscape but also serves as a valuable resource if any questions arise about your child’s employment.”
Payments to children are subject to income tax withholding regardless of the child’s age, according to the IRS. Hiring kids as W-2 employees and withholding taxes “covers your bases,” but they’ll get a full refund of taxes paid if they’re under the standard deduction, Lovison said.    More

A Walmart store in Florida City, Florida, May 2, 2024.
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Investors’ worries around stubborn inflation and the timing of Federal Reserve rate cuts is resulting in rocky markets.
While macro challenges could affect near-term sentiment, investors with a long-term time horizon can use Wall Street analysts’ stock research to inform their investment decisions and enhance portfolio returns.

Here are three stocks favored by the Street’s top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.
Monday.com
Workplace management software maker Monday.com (MNDY) is this week’s first stock pick. The company impressed investors with upbeat first-quarter results, driven by strong demand for its products across all end markets.  
In reaction to the quarterly report, Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan reiterated a buy rating on Monday.com stock and increased the price target to $300 from $270. Despite the post-earnings rally, the analyst still thinks that the stock is undervalued.
Rangan called Monday.com “a rare example of a company with visibility into improving NER [net expansion rate], growing momentum in the enterprise, SMB [small and medium businesses] strength, and healthy clip of FCF [free cash flow] margin.”
Rangan noted that the company is exhibiting solid pricing power within the small- and medium-sized business space, which reflects its high-value proposition.

Overall, the analyst expects the rate of revenue deceleration to moderate, with net new revenue growth likely starting to stabilize. He said he thinks Monday.com’s unified platform will support a durable margin profile and boost long-term revenue growth.
Rangan ranks No. 388 among more than 8,800 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 60% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 10.7%. (See Monday.com Hedge Fund Trading Activity on TipRanks)
Walmart
Next up is big-box retailer Walmart (WMT), which recently delivered better-than-anticipated revenue and earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2025. The company’s results were fueled by robust e-commerce sales growth, supported by store-fulfilled pickup and delivery, as well as strength in the third-party marketplace.
In reaction to the print, Baird analyst Peter Benedict reaffirmed a buy rating on Walmart stock and increased the price target to $70 from $65. The analyst said he thinks the company’s focus on value and convenience continues to attract all customer cohorts, with the majority of the U.S. market share gains supported by higher-income households — that is, those with more than $100,000 in annual income.
The analyst’s increased price target reflects “WMT’s increasing momentum around reshaping its P&L through the scaling of higher margin/ROI [return on investment] accretive alternative revenue streams and automation initiatives.”
Benedict added that Walmart’s alternative revenue streams, including advertising, marketplace, fulfillment services, data monetization and Walmart+, carry higher margins and complement its core retail business.
The analyst estimates that these alternative streams generate about $7 billion in revenue. He expects profits from these growing businesses to be vital margin drivers that can help fund investments in Walmart’s other growth areas.
Benedict ranks No. 68 among more than 8,800 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 69% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 15.1%. (See Walmart Technical Analysis on TipRanks)
CyberArk Software
Finally, let’s look at the cybersecurity company CyberArk (CYBR). On May 20, the company announced an agreement to acquire machine identity management provider Venafi for $1.54 billion from private equity firm Thoma Bravo.
CyberArk expects the deal to be closed in the second half of this year. The company anticipates that Venafi’s complementary machine identity security solutions will expand its total addressable market by about $10 billion to nearly $60 billion.
TD Cowen analyst Shaul Eyal reiterated a buy rating on CyberArk stock with a price target of $300 after the deal’s announcement. The analyst noted that the company’s previous acquisitions, including Idaptive, Conjur and Viewfinity, were quickly and effectively integrated and have delivered significant returns in recent years.
While Venafi represents CyberArk’s largest acquisition to date, Eyal said he thinks the company’s management team will maintain its strong M&A track record.
Eyal highlighted that the deal is expected to be immediately accretive to CyberArk’s gross, operating and cash flow margins. He added that the company is well-positioned to leverage huge revenue synergy opportunities through cross-sell, up-sell and geographic expansion. The company plans to capitalize on its extensive, global go-to-market network to distribute Venafi’s solutions.
“CYBR’s existing 8.8K customers represent early upsell/cross-sell opportunities (there is a ~200 customer overlap),” said Eyal.  
Eyal holds the 15th position among more than 8,800 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 68% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 26.7%. (See CyberArk’s Ownership Structure on TipRanks) More

Women and Wealth Events
Your Money

In the book “Women Money Power,” financial journalist Josie Cox tells the story of women’s fight for financial equality.
Despite marked improvements, she laments the fact that “women still only account for about a 10th of Fortune 500 CEOs” and that “men still vastly outnumber women in political leadership.”
“We know that biases about who and what makes a good leader are reinforced when the visible image of a leader doesn’t change,” Cox told CNBC.

Fatcamera | E+ | Getty Images

To understand why women are still fighting to catch up to men economically, author Josie Cox turns to the past. She doesn’t have to look too far back.
The Women’s Business Ownership Act, which allowed women to obtain business financing without a male co-signer, didn’t pass until 1988, Cox, a financial journalist, writes in her new book, “Women Money Power: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality.” Women weren’t admitted into Ivy League colleges before 1969, and could be fired from their jobs for getting pregnant as recently as 1978.

“Pregnancy discrimination across corporate America is still rampant,” Cox said.

More from Women and Wealth:

Here’s a look at more coverage in CNBC’s Women & Wealth special report, where we explore ways women can increase income, save and make the most of opportunities.

Cox’s book traces the centurieslong battle by women to gain their economic equality to men, bringing many fascinating characters out of the shadow of history along the way. Speaking with CNBC this month, she said it is clear that the quest for justice has a long way to go.
(The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)

‘Money is a gauge of power’

Annie Nova: You give so many examples of how women, in the past, needed men to even engage with the economy. Why was our society set up that way?
Josie Cox: In societies that are set up around the principles of capitalism, money is a gauge of power. And women have historically just not had as much power as men.

In my book, I write about the concept of “coverture.”
Coverture is a legal practice rooted in English law that dictated that no woman or girl had an independent legal identity. At birth, a girl was covered by her father’s identity, and, when she married, by her husband’s. Under the laws of coverture, a woman didn’t even have the right to her own body, which meant that any wages she generated through her own labor legally belonged to her husband.
Gradually, the power of coverture has weakened. But even today, there are traces of its influences — the tradition of a woman taking a man’s name through marriage is an obvious example.

Arrows pointing outwards

Women Money Power by Josie Cox

AN: You write about how women could be fired from their jobs for getting pregnant until 1978. Do you know how common that was? What issues did this lead to for women? Are things much better today?
JC: It’s impossible to know how many women got fired for getting pregnant before 1978. It was just a commonly accepted and unremarkable thing to do.
Many women working in the paid labor market hid their pregnancies for as long as possible to avoid getting fired. When they did get fired, it was tough for many who needed the money.
Today it is, of course, illegal to fire a woman for getting pregnant. But as I write in my book, women still have to contend with bias and discrimination that is more subtle. Pregnancy discrimination across corporate America is still rampant.
AN: How was the repeal of Roe v. Wade a familiar story for women of previous generations? What are some of the economic consequences of the decision? 
JC: Access to health-care and reproductive rights are inextricably linked with women’s economic empowerment, and personal freedom. As such, the decision dealt a tragic blow to the progress we’d made toward gender equality over the preceding 50 years.
It will take time before we can gauge the precise cost — both economically and otherwise — of the severe abortion restrictions that have come into effect since the Dobbs decision, but it’s fair to say that it’s significant. 

Economy is ‘failing menopausal women’

AN: In what fields do we still need to see a lot more women?
JC: In many! Women still only account for about a 10th of Fortune 500 CEOs. Men still vastly outnumber women in political leadership.
We know that biases about who and what makes a good leader are reinforced when the visible image of a leader doesn’t change. So it’s critical that more women move into these positions of power.
At the same time, we need to ensure that we’re also chipping away at the ridiculous notion that men shouldn’t be primary caregivers and that they shouldn’t be doing as much unpaid labor as women.

AN: How is our economy, as you write, “failing menopausal women?”
JC: Menopause is still an unbreeched subject in most workplaces, but the reality is that it’s a hugely important thing to acknowledge.
As I write in my book, the age at which women tend to enter menopause — about 45 to 55 — is typically also the age at which they’ve gained enough professional and life experience to enter the most senior and lucrative jobs. The economic firepower of these people is enormous. But in many ways, the parameters of the workday and workplace just don’t work for them.
AN: Your book is filled with so many great stories of the women throughout history that fought for gender equality. Can you tell me one of your favorites?
JC: Dexter McCormick provided almost all of the funding that enabled the research and development necessary for bringing the first oral contraceptive pill to the American market. She was stranger than fiction.
Long before contraceptive devices were widely available in the U.S. — and at a time when they were, in some places, outright illegal — McCormick went to Europe, pretended to be a medical supplies buyer, bought diaphragms in bulk, sewed them into the linings of her coats and dresses and then smuggled them back to America where she distributed them.
She wanted women to be able to take control of their bodies and their lives, and she recognized early on something that we all know now: Access to reproductive health care is a condition for a woman being able to reach her full personal, professional and economic potential. 
The FDA [The Food and Drug Administration] approved the pill for contraceptive use in May of 1960, when McCormick was in her eighties. She went to see her doctor and got a prescription for it; not because she needed it, of course, but because she could.

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