New policies or no improvement

24 November 2015
| By Jassmyn |
image
image
expand image

Changes to the super system are not enough to close the gender gap in retirement savings, the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) believes.

While reforms such as extending the low income super contribution (LISC) scheme and removing the $450 monthly contribution limit are important, AIST said there were external issues to super than can have a much greater impact on either the gender gap or the fairness of the super system.

AIST said the major contributing factors to the retirement savings gap are pay inequity and constraints on female workplace participation.

AIST chief executive, Tom Garcia, said improving women's retirement outcomes is not just a matter of pulling levers inside the super system.

"If we are going to close the gap, we need a holistic approach, which includes a full examination of relevant policies outside of super," Garcia said.

"Legislating objectives for superannuation will hopefully put an end to ad hoc policy tinkering and provide a robust framework with which to assess any future policy proposals.

Garcia noted without fresh policies there should not be any expectation for any improvement.

"After 25 years of compulsory super this is a long-overdue measure that will be particularly valuable both in tackling the gender savings gap and assisting the current Tax Inquiry," he said.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest developments in Super Review! Anytime, Anywhere!

Grant Banner

From my perspective, 40- 50% of people are likely going to be deeply unhappy about how long they actually live. ...

1 year 5 months ago
Kevin Gorman

Super director remuneration ...

1 year 6 months ago
Anthony Asher

No doubt true, but most of it is still because over 45’s have been upgrading their houses with 30 year mortgages. Money ...

1 year 6 months ago

Private market assets in super have surged, while private debt recorded the fastest growth among all investment types....

8 hours ago

The equities investor has launched a new long-short fund seeded by UniSuper, targeting alpha from ASX 300 equities using AI insights....

8 hours 17 minutes ago

The fund has strengthened efforts to boost gender diversity, targeting 40:40:20 balance across its investment teams by 2030....

8 hours 20 minutes ago

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS

ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
92.15 3 y p.a(%)
3