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A decade of data on superannuation balances reveals that the gap in retirement balances is closing between women and men — albeit at a glacial pace.
New research from Roy Morgan shows that over the past 10 years, the disparity in ownership of super accounts has narrowed and average balances have become closer between retiring women and men.
The average superannuation balance for females has grown faster than for males since 2012, with women increasing their retirement savings by 38 per cent, to $154,000, compared to males, who saw an increase of 26 per cent, putting them at $216,000 on average.
Meanwhile, 10 years ago, only 66.2 per cent of females had superannuation, compared to 74.8 per cent of males — a gap of 8.6 percentage points. Currently the gap has reduced to 3.9 percentage points, with 70.9 per cent of women holding super and 74.8 per cent of men.
Michele Levine, CEO of Roy Morgan, noted that there had been a concerted effort over this time period to address what has become known as the “super gap.” Ten years prior, at the time the issue began gaining traction, the average superannuation balance held by females was $111,000, or only 64.7 per cent of the male average of $172,000.
Ms Levine opined that it had been promising to see that the attention paid to the issue has resulted in some progress, but there is far more to be done.
“The gender gap in superannuation has increasingly come into focus in recent years as women’s workforce participation has increased, but the disparity in average superannuation between men and women has persisted with only marginal improvements over the last decade,” she said.
While a significant gap persists, Ms Levine said there will still be work to accomplish.
“Women in Australia continue to retire with far less superannuation than their male counterparts, even though the longer life expectancy at birth for women in Australia is more than four years higher than for men — 85.4 years versus 81.3 [years],” she said.
At the current rate of increase, it will take roughly 50 years for the gender gap in superannuation balances to be eliminated.
Ms Levine noted that while much of the increase in super balances and ownership could be attributed to increased participation in the workforce among women, the question still remained on how to address lower female super balances when women were far more likely to work part time — often to take on more responsibility for childcare duties.
“Clearly, part-time work is associated with a lower annual income than full-time work and this continues to contribute to the ongoing gender superannuation gap. The latest figures on income show that average female incomes are at only around 76 per cent of the male average, which in turn leads to lower superannuation contributions and balances compared to males,” she said.
Currently, 45.3 per cent of women work part time, whereas for men, that figure is significantly smaller, at just 23.5 per cent.
In addition to lower average incomes, the increased likelihood that women will have interrupted employment is another reason why female super balances suffer, according to Ms Levine.
She noted, however, that “despite these negative factors operating against them, women have made gains in closing the superannuation gap to men”.
Continued progress, Ms Levine said, must include the involvement of governments.
“Progress is slow and additional policy actions should be seriously considered to close the gender superannuation gap”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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