Superannuation surcharge “misogynistic”

The average superannuation balance at retirement of females has been found to be about half that of males, according to a new survey by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).

Released at the ASFA Conference 2004 in Adelaide today, the report by the association’s principal researcher Ross Clare recommends a range of legislative and workplace measures to address the disparity.

The report, entitled ‘Why can't a woman be more like a man - gender differences in retirement savings’, calls for a reduction in the superannuation surcharge for people with low super balances as its key recommendation.

Describing the surcharge as a “particularly misogynistic” tax, the report said the tax penalised women aged over 55 who have returned to the workforce and achieved a relatively well-paid job.

“It makes more sense to assess a woman's income at that stage of life in the context of their superannuation accumulation,” ASFA chief executive Philippa Smith said.

“Divorce rates, among other things, will mean that women cannot count on sharing resources with a partner in retirement, or a spouse's death benefit,” Smith added.

The report, which found the disparity begins only after age 25, also recommended education and marketing aimed at increasing super contributions made by or for women.

It also recommended enhancing opportunities for low-income women to use the co-contribution, either by employee default saving schemes or super fund benefit structures.

Other recommendations were encouraging account consolidation - by super funds and the Australian Tax Office - and encouraging women and men to stay in or return to the paid labour force after formal retirement age.