Women leave work with 65% less super than men

Alas, it’s true!

When it comes to saving for the future the ladies look to be in a bit of a predicament. The Association of Super Funds of Australia (ASFA), recently discovered that about 75% of women have less than $40,000 saved for retirement. And while the guys also have to work more to have enough, their account balances were more than double.

Are we surprised?

Probably not, if we’re honest. Traditionally, women have been the ones to take time off work to look after the kids. And on average women still earn a lot less money than men. Even if we’re not surprised, it’s still not nice that women have only half the super savings that men have.

But if you’re a woman, or you love a woman, all hope is not lost! For a start, you’ve been smart enough to read this page so you’ll soon find out you can do something about it without compromising your lifestyle too much.

What can I do?

Other than asking your boss for a pay rise (hey, it’s worth a try) there are a few things you can do to counteract the savings deficit.

Contribute just a little bit more

If you’ve had a break from work and you’re now back into the swing of things, try putting a little bit more into your super every pay day. Set it up as a regular deduction from your pay and you won’t even notice it’s missing. You’d be amazed at how much difference just $10 could make to your future savings. Don’t hesitate, make a contribution today!

Or, find out what's relevant to your situation.

Split your super with your spouse

You can split your super contributions with your spouse, so that some of it goes into his or her super and some of it stays with you. Or your spouse can split their super with you! If you split before tax contributions, you could increase your spouse’s savings and reduce your taxable income – cool! To understand more please read the PDS and read the form available.  If you would like to split your contributions, complete the form and return it to us.

Read about other ways to grow your super in retirement.