WA women feel retirement pinch
Women in Western Australia are retiring with over $140,000 less than men with the state reporting the worst gender pay gap.
The state had a gender pay gap of 22.4%, significantly higher than the national average of 14.1%.
This then contributed to a retirement balance disparity where women in WA were retiring with $141,000 less than men.
Aware Super chief executive, Deanne Stewart, said: “There are two timelines to consider when looking at your future super income which is based on your current wage and multiplied over your working life.
“There’s the now – which is when women are being paid less for the same roles than men – and then there’s the future, which is one where that lower wage means a lower starting point and will be leaving them with a smaller retirement income to live on.”
She recommended that employers took action through initiatives such as pay equity audits, super guarantee on paid and unpaid parental leave or gender pay equity policies.
“When women are paid less than men, it sets up a domino effect of disadvantage for life – all the way to, and then through retirement.”
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Laura Dew is editor at Super Review. Prior to joining SR, she spent five years working at Investment Week in the UK covering asset and wealth management.
Recommended for you
Superannuation funds are expanding their activities in the advice space and a leading recruitment firm has shared the typical salaries on offer with three funds namechecked for their attractive offerings.
The council has urged government to avoid shifting ballooning CSLR costs onto 12 million low- and middle-income Australians.
Australia's superannuation success had built a substantial pool of retirement capital but it has created liquidity challenges as the system has outgrown the domestic market for investment opportunities, writes BNY's Otto Vaeisaenen.
Australia's largest super fund has announced its new chief financial officer as the fund prepares for its next phase of growth.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
211.16 3 y p.a(%)
2
Loftus Peak Global Disruption Fund Hedged
121.06 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
72.47 3 y p.a(%)
4
Paradice Australian Mid Cap A
69.09 3 y p.a(%)
5
Smarter Money Long-Short Credit Investor USD
68.96 3 y p.a(%)
