Career breaks costing women $160,000 in super

Taking career breaks costs women almost $160,000 in retirement savings, according to research by REST Industry Super.

The research also found that the impacts of career breaks on superannuation balances could be worsened when women do not make a financial plan when planning their breaks.

Just six per cent of women participating in the research sought professional advice before taking their career break, and only 16 per cent make a superannuation contribution during that break. Overall, women were 30 per cent less likely to make retirement income plans for during their break than men.

When combined with lower average earnings, this put women who have taken a career break on average superannuation balances $283,141 less than their male counterparts.

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Mary Atley, REST general manager, brand, marketing and communications said that the fact that break from work are often pre-planned for women (50 per cent take a break for maternity leave and 49 per cent for childcare) gives them the opportunity to seek financial advice.

She said that while there were a range of structural issues contributing to the gender super imbalance, financial planning could help lessen the impact of planned breaks on super accounts.

The research found that two-thirds of working Australians had taken at least one break from work, with the most common cause being health breaks.