National
Why WA Women Are Retiring Much Poorer Than Men
Women in Western Australia face the nation's largest retirement savings divide, underscoring the long-term impact of pay gaps, career breaks and lower super balances.
Western Australia's gender retirement savings gap is the largest in the nation, with Western Australian women having significantly less super when they retire than men, new analysis reveals.
Australian Taxation Office data showed the median superannuation balance for WA women is 69% of men, according to a report from the Super Members Council (SMC). In contrast to the rest of the country, women in Western Australia have approximately 80% of men's median savings at retirement.
The results suggest that the state economy is a significant factor. Mining, energy and resources industries are the major economic drivers in Western Australia, are predominantly male dominated and are generally higher paying.
In contrast, women are more likely to be employed in occupations with lower average earnings, including health and social work activities, and education and childcare.
The gap in superannuation savings will increase over time and is linked to income differences: this means that women will have less saved for retirement.
Retirement Gap persists despite higher contributions
The gap is especially significant for Australians nearing retirement age, the report said. The national gender super gap for ages 60-64 has increased to 26% from 20.5% in 2016-17.
Balances for women and men in this age group rose by 7.0% and 7.4%, respectively, over the year to $175,000 and $236,000, respectively. This results in women close to retirement having around $61,000 less saved in superannuation.
Women are contributing additional to their super at a higher rate than men notably. The report identified 11.6% of women who gave a voluntary contribution, compared with 10.0% of men, and an average female contribution of $28,900 compared to $28,100 for males.
Calls for reform
SMC stated that structural factors are still ailing women's retirement prospects. Relationship breakdown, unpaid caring and family violence can have a significant impact on lifetime earnings and superannuation savings with some women losing up to $95,000 in their retirement savings.
The organisation also expressed concern about provisions in the rules that mean that many part-time employees under 18 are not required to pay superannuation. This disproportionately impacts young women working in retail and hospitality, and can result in a savings gap from the outset of their career, SMC said.
The council is urging more reforms, such as more access to superannuation, better aged-care and childcare support, greater flexibility in the workplace, more equitable super splitting rules in divorce proceedings and better housing support for older women who are financially insecure in retirement.
Source: Smart Company
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