Women’s Health in the North researcher Debra Parkinson:
“The question of how women plan for their aged care, and how they pay for it, led WHIN to look at superannuation. It seems everyone knows women retire with much less super than men, but there is no discussion about it, certainly no outrage!
The figures are stark. Australian women retire with only half the retirement savings of men. More than 50 per cent of retired women live in households with an annual income of less than $30,000, and single, divorced and widowed women are among the worst off. Unfortunately, even though this has been well documented since the inception of compulsory super in 1992, their plight remains largely unheeded by politicians, the government and industry.
The problem is that the compulsory superannuation system is built on a model of a ‘‘normal’’ taxpayer, who works full-time for 35 years – a system that favours what was a typical male working pattern. Women have always worked, but traditionally mostly in the private sphere, caring for family, providing food and running the household. In Australia in the 20th century, this was evident in the fact that many women were unpaid ‘‘housewives’’ and their husbands were ‘‘breadwinners’’. Yet, the idea that women have only recently entered the paid labour force is a myth. Women, particularly poor women, have always been part of the paid labour force – usually in the worst-paid jobs under the worst conditions.
The main reason women have less super is reduced time in the paid workforce – because they are bearing and raising the next generation. Financial analyses show a strong relationship between the number of children a woman has and the amount of super accumulated – not the case for men. The other key reason is that women earn only 83 cents for every dollar earned by men.
Our population is ageing. With baby boomers rapidly expanding the proportion of retired people, the huge challenge facing us now is to prevent women from ageing and dying in poverty. Women over 65 make up 15 per cent of the population and can expect to live well beyond age pension entitlement at 67. New policies in regard to super would be the first important step.
