Retail workers, both women and men, are missing out the most on compulsory superannuation contributions due to the $450 a month threshold.
According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), around 220,000 women and 145,000 men are missing out on around $125 million of super contributions a year.
When these figures were broken down, ASFA said the majority of women missing out on SG included 85,000 working in retail, 57,000 in aged care and child care, and 8,000 in clerical roles.
For men, 50,000 in retail, 32,000 labourers, 26,000 in aged care and other community services roles, and 8,000 clerical workers.
ASFA chief executive, Martin Fahy, said the removal of the $450 threshold would help many Australians who were struggling to build wealth for their retirement.
“Every worker deserves to enjoy the winning benefits of compound interest on compulsory retirement savings through super,” he said
“The threshold is just holding back long-term savings for low paid people and depriving them of a better post-work life.”
Under the current threshold, workers earning less than $450 a month are denied the superannuation guarantee (SG). ASFA said it was no unusual for casual workers in low-paying industries like security, contract cleaning, call-centres, child care, the horticultural industry and good processing to hold down two or three jobs.
