POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Policy rethink needed on retirement savings gender gap
Women in Super (WIS) national chair Cate Wood has called for a "policy rethink" in order to bridge the gender gap in Australians' retirement savings.
Following the release of a Rice Warner Actuaries report that said super funds and employers could do more to encourage women to engage with their retirement savings, Wood said time out from the workforce was a critical factor.
"The case studies in the report shine a light on the impact of the gender pay gap on female retirement savings, and then overlay the impact of time out of the workforce and part-time work - all common experiences for many women," she said.
"When all factors are in play, the shortfall in a woman's retirement savings is truly shocking."
Rice Warner's report said the Government to abolish the $450 threshold and make superannuation contributions on parental leave.
It said the superannuation system had been designed around the paid work system, which disadvantaged women. Lower pay as well as parental duties and earlier retirement were cited as ways in which women were disadvantaged.
The system needed to protect future female generations from suffering a similar fate to today's retiring females who had 50 per cent less retirement savings than men on average, Rice Warner deputy chief executive Melissa Fuller said.
Launched at the WIS morning tea at the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) conference, the report said Government, super funds and employers all had an obligation to close the gap.
Fuller said super funds had an obligation to reach out to younger members, particularly females to ensure they took an interest in their retirement savings.
AUTHOR
Staff Writer
Money Management staff writers are writers who contribute to the website from time to time. If you would like to discuss the content contained within this article please contact us.
Recommended for you
A major super fund has defended its use of private markets in a submission to ASIC, asserting that appropriate governance and information-sharing practices are present in both public and private markets.
A member body representing some prominent wealth managers is concerned super funds’ dominance is sidelining small companies in capital markets.
Earlier this month, several Australian superannuation funds fell victim to credential stuffing attacks, which saw a small number of members lose more than $500,000.
Small- to medium-sized funds have become collateral damage in an "imperfect" model for super industry levies, a financial institution has said.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
93.34 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
36.96 3 y p.a(%)
3
GAM LSA Private Shares AU I
34.22 3 y p.a(%)
4
Fidante Credit Suisse Global Private Equity
29.68 3 y p.a(%)
5
VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF (AU)
28.89 3 y p.a(%)
