Women still falling short on super
An alarming proportion of Australian women do not have enough superannuation to retire comfortably and have few places to turn when their balance runs out, a superannuation specialist says.
Despite some estimates suggesting retirees should have around a million dollars in superannuation, the average Australian woman only had around $87,000 in their account, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Poonam Schmetz, head of Nexia Australia’s Super Confident division, said given the growing disparity, women should be seeking specialist advice early.
She advised women who were concerned to start saving as early as possible, consolidate their super and seek professional advice on tax, financial and legal matters.
“Unfortunately, many women are disadvantaged as they take time off to have children and, quite often, earn no income for a number of years while their children are young ... Some never return to the workforce or if they do, it is in a reduced capacity,” she said.
“This means they are not building up funds in their super account so when they retire, they have considerably less than men.”
The shortfall is forcing a growing number of women to seek help from non-government bodies, support network Fitted For Work’s CEO Jane Hunt said.
“Older women are the new poor of Australia,” she said.
“There has been a major increase in the number of older women seeking work, sometimes for the first time in their lives or after 20 or 30 years in the home, because they fear they will not have enough money to live on as they age.
“It is a major issue that we will have to face in the next few decades and sadly, women are the biggest losers in the super equation,” she added.
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