HESTA has announced three measures to make women’s financial security a top priority for the Government.
These were a carer’s credit for unpaid parental leave, universally accessible and affordable childcare and making it a priority to paying superannuation on Commonwealth Parental Leave Pay. These should be enacted within the new Government’s first 100 days, the super fund said.
Women were currently earning 14.2% less than men in the workforce which contributed to them receiving a lower amount of superannuation in retirement.
This was exacerbated further by the fact many women took breaks in their careers to raise children, which necessitated the need for payments on parental leave. Modelling had shown paying super on the Commonwealth Parental Leave scheme could see a person with an extra $14,000 in retirement.
Access to affordable childcare would also help by reducing the time that parents were out of the workforce to care for children.
HESTA chief executive, Debby Blakey, said: “An incoming Government needs to prioritise long-overdue superannuation equity measures and boost women’s workforce participation
through improved access to affordable childcare.
“There have been some significant reforms such as abolishing the $450 wages threshold for superannuation and improved super splitting arrangements, however, more needs to be done to improve financial security for future generations of women.”
