RALEIGH -- Female baby boomers shattered glass ceilings and enrolled in colleges that shut out their mothers. Some chose to forgo motherhood and stay single; some married and stayed home to tend to their families.

Single female baby boomers are the least-prepared of this more than 75-million-strong generation to financially navigate their senior years. Their moms, too, weren't prepared, but most braved those years alongside a husband.

About 40 percent of female baby boomers are single now -- up from 30 percent in 1989 -- and most never meant to be. Nationally, there are about 17 million single females ages 46 to 64; about two-thirds of them separated from, divorced, or buried their spouses.

Although many baby boomer women stayed home, at least for a time, to raise their children, the generation brought the first sizable number of women to the workforce. And, many thrived, leading experts to hope this generation of women would be better prepared financially for their senior years.

But, working wasn't the silver bullet.

Those who joined the work force earned less than their male counterparts, nationally about 77 cents to the man's dollar.

And many who devoted their prime to motherhood find themselves divorced and returning to a work force that doesn't have space or patience for them. Those women had less time to build up their Social Security savings or 401(k) plans.

Experts began years ago to predict this land mine for single women nearing retirement. The Federal Reserve Board found in 2001 that only a third of single women had any sort of retirement savings account; at the same time, fewer than 10 percent of single women had pensions through their jobs.

Now, the turbulent economy has turned those early warnings into full-scale alarms. Plans have been derailed for even the women who prepared. Some eye their retirement savings warily and wonder whether they will outlive the money they set aside for these years, a real possibility as their life expectancy stretched to age 85. Others are heading back to work.

"I never thought about retirement. No one ever talked about it and what I needed to do," said Katrina Philips, 62, of Clayton, N.C. "I guess I was stupid about it."

Like Ms. Philips, Bette Lee Drake didn't spend much time thinking about saving for her senior years. Her father was an affluent cattle rancher in Texas and her mother's side of the family had money too.

"I never thought I'd have to work," said Ms. Drake, 62, of Raleigh. "I thought I'd be at home as a wife and a mother. I had no ambition. I figured I'd be a princess for the rest of my life."

Her prince didn't stick around, however, leaving her to raise her three children alone. Her mother urged her to go to college to earn a teaching degree. Ms. Drake said she tried to be savvy. She moved to a school district that compensated teachers well and offered a pension. She bought a house. She saved for her children's education. After those expenses, she had little left in her paycheck.

It wasn't until 15 years ago that she saved her first dime for retirement.

"Retirement? How was I supposed to pay for that, too?" Drake asked. "I wish someone had sat me down and told me I had to figure this out."

Donna Watkins, a Raleigh financial specialist for nonprofit ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions, said the older baby boomer women didn't get the financial lessons their children have, even though they were entering the work force and earning their own money.

Ms. Philips said her retirement plan was her husband. She figured they would rely on his military pension. But he became an ex two years ago, and she said she got none of that. To make matters worse, she lost her full-time job months before and has struggled to find steady work since.

Once upon a time, Ms. Philips, a former banker, did have a retirement account. The bank where she worked even matched her contributions. But the bank closed its office in her town, leaving her jobless with few prospects.

She cashed in her retirement savings to keep from losing her house.

Ms. Philips said she's been turned down from more jobs than she can count. Last month things got so dire that she applied for food stamps.

Single women "are doing their best to save for their kids' education," said Jim Trull, a certified financial planner. "All of a sudden, they wake up one day and realize they are 55 and have only $100,000 in their 401(k) and they make $70,000 a year."

In 2009, Margaret VanDeCar of Raleigh had a good job as an accountant and was on track financially to retire in her 60s. But she was laid off at age 58. "I never anticipated that setback," she said. She and her husband divorced 17 years ago.

Many of the single boomer women who had stepped into retirement are facing the same cold reception as they try to wedge their way back into the job market.

Arnita Woodard, 61 of Garner, N.C., took early retirement a decade ago from her management job at Duke Energy. She figured volunteering to take a buyout would spare another employee who still had young children. She had already gotten her son into college.

Ms. Woodard, a divorcee, imagined finding other work to help supplement her pension. But those jobs were hard to land. Finally, a year ago, she decided to start her own business, offering companionship and organizational help to older seniors.

"For me, this is the difference between paying my bills and getting to have some fun," she said.

Ms. Drake, the retired teacher, is also looking for the same sort of supplement. She receives $2,200 a month from her pension plan, but she has been nibbling at her savings to cover fun activities and travel. She has spent the $40,000 profit she made when she sold her house last year.

She imagined finding work as a substitute teacher. But those jobs have grown scarce. She got a job as a clerk at a women's clothing store, where she is paid $8 an hour. She figures she spent three times her paycheck shopping. She quit and has vowed to stay out of the mall.

For all the single boomers' efforts to save enough money to cover their expenses in retirement, they are caught flat-footed on a critical issue: long-term-care insurance.

The AARP said boomer women are ill prepared for long-term-care needs. According to a survey of boomer women, more than half of female baby boomers do not have a long-term-care insurance policy, and two-thirds said they couldn't afford the premiums, according to the AARP survey.

That gap promises to be an enormous problem because these women are expected to live to age 85 or older.

The average cost for an assisted living facility in 2010 was $38,000 a year. A private room in a nursing home was nearly double that.

Many of the women said they'd turn to their children if they needed help. "My son said he'll take care of me when I get to that point," said Ms. Woodard of Garner.

First Published June 26, 2011, 4:15 a.m.