Close The Gender Gap

There are simple ways for women to top up their savings to make sure they’re heading for a comfortable retirement

- Annette Sampson

For too long, women have been the wallflowers at the superannuation party. Women, on average, retire with around 40% less super than men despite the fact that we live longer and need more. According to Women in Super, 40% of older single retired women live in poverty and experience economic insecurity and 44% of women rely on their partner’s income as the main way to fund their retirement.

Anyone else thinking of Cinderella here? The reasons for the gender gap have been well documented. In a nutshell, women still generally earn less than men, we’re more likely to work part-time or take time out of the workforce to take care of family, and more women than men don’t receive super at all.

The super system rewards a traditional working life where you work full time continuously and your salary grows over a period of about 40 years. Not only is that no longer representative of the general workforce, it is particularly skewed against women and their need for more flexibility in when and how they work.

But the good news is there are things you can do to boost your super.

Take care of the basics

Standard advice such as starting early to take advantage of compound interest (even a small contribution can help), understanding where and how your money is invested and consolidating accounts to avoid unnecessary fees is particularly important for women.

Glen McCrea, deputy chief executive of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) , says it’s also important to check your payslip and super fund to ensure your employer is paying your compulsory contributions – currently 9.5% of your salary.