Super disengagement from women prompts warning
Women are increasingly becoming disengaged from their superannuation, placing an onus on planners to start a dialogue about the issue in client consultations, a planner believes.
The advice was prompted by statistics released by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) this year, which showed more than a third of Australian women and around 60 per cent aged between 65 and 69 reported having no superannuation at all.
Financial planner and director of the FMS Group, Christine Hornery, said planners have a key role in reminding women to direct savings into a retirement fund, with pension benefits unlikely to be a sustainable reality.
“I believe there are women retiring today who are using Centrelink to subsidise their retirement and that just may not possible for as many people in the future,” she said.
In addition to disengagement, Hornery said women appeared to be allocating more money to upholding their current lifestyle, at the cost of their retirement.
“People think there are more pressing things in their current lifestyle so they aren’t thinking about the future,” Hornery said.
“My suggestion is to not just think about today - start thinking about what your future is going to look like.”
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