There’s a stark reality all of us must face: most women today have super balances up to 25 per cent lower at retirement than men, even when we have comparable roles in the workplace.
Often, women who have dedicated their careers to crucial yet frequently underpaid sectors such as healthcare, education and hospitality find themselves at the greatest disadvantage as they approach retirement. And there are three big reasons why.. Many women, even today, and certainly over previous decades, are paid less than their male colleagues, so their superannuation contributions are lower over their lifetime. As a result, their compound investment returns are also lower.
Mary Delahunty, chief executive of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, said this is the first and possibly the most important step most women can take. “Don’t think that you are alone in the alarming numbers you may see. Take a deep breath … and face into it together with your super fund,” she says.
But if you hold more than one standard super fund, most people will want to take the time to understand what the balance of each fund is, and what life insurance each contains, and look to consolidate into one high-performing fund with suitable insurance options and competitive fees, chiefly to save yourself in administration costs that will eat away at your balance.Super balances grow and multiply over the long term.
It’s tough to stare at the gap head-on, but it’s worthwhile. It’s also important to raise our daughters to understand superannuation better, so they take contributions more seriously than previous generations of women and fight for what is fair.