Over the course of their working life, a man will accumulate nearly twice as much in their Superannuation as a woman.
According to ASIC’s Money Smart website, on average a woman will finish full time employment with just $230,907, while a man will have $454,2211. When you consider that the cost of a comfortable retirement is estimated to be approximately $44,000 per annum for a single, a women who retires at 65, will need a total of $525,000 to live on – more if she retires earlier2. This only highlights the vast disparity between what is needed and the level of retirement assets the average woman leaves the workforce with.
Not only will a woman have less money for her retirement but because women tend to live longer, she will typically spend 15 more years in retirement than a man3, so she actually needs a lot more to live comfortably.
It is not just superannuation where women are lagging behind. Based on a survey of 4500 workers from the Australian Services Union, over half of the women had no private savings outside of their super or the family home, and of those that did have savings, the amount was less than $10,0004.
So how do you fix this problem? While there may be a gender pay gap, which leads to a super gap, you’ve made the first step just by taking action and reading this.
It’s not all doom and gloom. The good news is, you’ve made the first step just by reading this and Freya Financial can provide you with the tools and advice you need to plan for the future.
To find out more on these topics, please click on the links below:
1. ASIC’s Moneysmart (2018). Women’s Money Challenges (Infographic). Available at: www.moneysmart.gov.au
2. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (2018). ASFA Retirement Standard March Quarter 2018 and ASFA Retirement Standard Detailed Budget Breakdowns March Quarter 2018. Available at: www.superannuation.asn.au
3. ABS Retirement and Retirement Intentions, July 2016 to June 2017.
4. Hetherington, D. (2017). The superannuation system doesn’t work for women. It’s time to do better. The Guardian. [online] Available at: www.theguardian.com