Australia moves to reduce gender retirement gap
- Charles Chau
Data from the Association of Super Funds of Australia (ASFA) showed that women retire with an average of 23% less super than men.
Modelling by ASFA revealed that a large portion of the inequity that arises when having a baby could be neutralised for a woman earning A$80,000 (US$58,180) and eliminated for a woman earning A$60,000 (US$43,635) or less by introducing two simple measures: the first being Superannuation Guarantee on paid parental leave, and the second being a Super Baby Bonus of A$5,000 (US$3,636) for each child a woman gives birth to or adopts.
ASFA senior policy adviser Helena Gibson said, “As we recognise International Women’s Day in 2022 and the theme #breakthebias, we are calling for support for women who take time out of the workforce to have or care for a baby.
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“There is strong support among Australians for policy action. Results of a recent ASFA survey show that more than 80% of people agree that the government should try to boost the super balances of women who take time out of the workforce to have children.”
The calculations are based on the balances of an average 30-year-old man and woman (in 2022) and assuming the woman has one baby over the period to 2030, according to Money Mag.
