What women think about the super gender gap
A new national survey commissioned by AustralianSuper shows 86 per cent of Australian women believe they are more likely to retire with less super than men.
Women feel the demands of caring for family - and working more in part-time rather than full-time positions and earning less than men for the same work - are the main reasons for the super gender gap, the Galaxy poll said.
AustralianSuper's general manager of growth Rose Kerlin said the results showed women's own understanding of the issue, its causes and their suggested solutions.
"Women are well aware of the situation they are facing and over 70 per cent are quite concerned or very concerned that they are retiring with a little more than half the retirement savings of men," Kerlin said.
Forty-four per cent of women said the best solution for this was ensuring women were paid equally for the same work as men.
Twenty-eight per cent said super should be included in maternity leave entitlements, Kerlin said.
She said that despite the gender gap in retirement savings, women could still do many things to end up with more when they retire.
"Millions of women should be able to access the Low Income Super Contribution which refunds up to $500 of tax paid on super contributions to people who earn less than $37,000 a year.
"$500 a year extra into super will make a big difference to many women," she said.
Combining super into one account to reduce fees, choosing the right investment option, spouse contributions, making extra contributions to super and the transition to retirement pension for women over 55 years are all ways women could boost their retirement savings, Kerlin said.
AustralianSuper, which commissioned the survey, did its own analysis to reveal the industries with the largest gender gap in retirement readiness. They included repairs and maintenance, professional, scientific and technical services and mining.
Mining has the highest retirement readiness for women, while the cleaning services industry has the lowest.
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