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Women need 13% more
11th Jul 2011
On Thursday on ABC Radio National, Life Matters host Richard Aedy had a chat with ANU Social Policy Analyst, Professor Matthew Gray, who recently presented research based on HILDA statistics on household income and savings. The news for women approaching retirement isn’t really getting any better. Tout ca change, rien ca change.
The Professor has worked with colleagues to investigate the impact of work history, marital status and children on Australian women's retirement savings. The conclusion comes as no surprise – women will typically enter retirement with less income and fewer assets than men. This is because they earn lower wages and spend less time in the paid workforce, with fragmented work histories due to raising families and care-giving. Divorce is another factor which affects their financial wellbeing. Because superannuation is the main form of retirement income and many older women have little in the way of super savings, they start behind the eight ball. This is exacerbated by the fact women generally tend to live longer and so they would need 13 per cent more superannuation in order to fund their later lives in something approaching an equal manner.
More on HILDA (Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia)
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