AIST: menopause costs women over $17bn a year

The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), which called on the Government to investigate the role the menopause plays in contributing to the super gender gap, has estimated it costs women more than $17 billion per year in lost earnings.

In a submission to the Government ahead of its first Budget on 25 October, AIST asked the Office for Women to measure and report on the impact of menopausal symptoms on women’s employment and retirement decisions.

According to the AIST, women aged 45 to 54 retired on average at 52.1, which was earlier than planned (59) and earlier than men (59.5). The AIST said that less than a half of the women who retired earlier than expected (44.9%) cited “own sickness, injury or disability” as a reason for leaving their last job.

The data showed that in Australia only 26.8% of working women retired under the age of 55 compared to a “quarter of menopausal women experienced debilitating symptoms leading to long-term absences from work or forcing them into early retirement”, according to the recent British studies.

“This leads to experienced middle-aged women leaving the workforce at a time when they are at the peak of their experience and earning potential,” AIST chief executive, Eva Scheerlinck, said.

AIST said a difference of 21.2% between otherwise identical cohorts pointed to a ‘health crisis’ in under 55-year-old women driving retirement well ahead of what was intended.

“What is unclear from this data is what role menopausal symptoms have on a woman’s decision to retire and specific research needs to be undertaken by government to assess this,” AIST said.

A woman retiring at the average age for a man would accrue an additional 7.4 years of income and superannuation which, based on average earnings of $70,626.40 a year, amounted to lost salary and wages of more than $522,635 and foregone superannuation of more than $54,880, according to the AIST.

“The collective loss of earnings and superannuation was more than $17 billion per year, if a modest estimate of 10% of women (28,700) retiring early due to menopausal symptoms was used, but the economic loss was more than $35 billion if 21.2% difference (60,809) was used,” the AIST said.