Structural issues create super inequality not SG

19 November 2020
| By Jassmyn |
image
image
expand image

Around 240,000 women and 160,000 men are affected by the $450 superannuation threshold and the industry needs to tackle structural issues directly to redress the imbalance between men ad women in average retirement balances, according to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).

ASFA chief executive, Martin Fahy, said it was not the rate of the superannuation guarantee (SG) that created inequality in women’s super but broken working patterns, part-time work, and the tendency to be lower paid.

“Structural issues such as the $450 per month threshold for SG, not receiving super during paid parental leave, practical difficulties with family law and super splitting and no compulsory super for the self-employed, all serve to leave women worse off in retirement,” Fahy said.

“ASFA has advocated for a number of changes to address these issues, including that the $450-a-month threshold for SG should be abolished, SG should apply whenever there is an entitlement to receive income replacement and that compulsory superannuation should be extended to the self-employed.”

ASFA pointed to Treasury data that estimated around 240,000 women and 160,000 men were affected by the $450 threshold and that 40% of those affected were under the age of 25 and two-thirds aged under 35.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest developments in Super Review! Anytime, Anywhere!

Grant Banner

From my perspective, 40- 50% of people are likely going to be deeply unhappy about how long they actually live. ...

11 months ago
Kevin Gorman

Super director remuneration ...

11 months 1 week ago
Anthony Asher

No doubt true, but most of it is still because over 45’s have been upgrading their houses with 30 year mortgages. Money ...

11 months 1 week ago

Jim Chalmers has defended changes to the Future Fund’s mandate, referring to himself as a “big supporter” of the sovereign wealth fund, amid fierce opposition from the Co...

1 day 5 hours ago

Demand from institutional investors was the main driver of growth in Australia’s responsible investment (RI) market in 2023, as the industry continued to gain momentum....

1 day 5 hours ago

In a new review of the country’s largest fund, a research house says it’s well placed to deliver attractive returns despite challenges....

1 day 6 hours ago