Gender super gap remains despite high global ranking

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

14 October 2022

The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) has flagged Australia’s high ranking in the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index 2022 (MCGPI) as the spark behind renewed calls for government-led improvement of Australian female retirement.

AIST chief executive, Eva Scheerlinck, said despite Australia’s B+ grade there was still plenty to be done in the superannuation system to provide Australian women with better and more equal retirement outcomes.

“Although Australia has a world-class retirement system, it is not delivering enough for Australian women, who retire with about 40% less superannuation than men on average because they earn less and take more time out of the workforce caring for children and other family members and retire earlier than men,” she said.

The 2020 Retirement Income Review also found that paying super on Commonwealth Parental Leave Pay would cost around $200 million a year.

“As the peak body for profit-to-members super funds, AIST continues to call on the Federal Government to pay the Superannuation Guarantee on Commonwealth paid parental leave and for other employers who offer such leave to pay super on it,” Scheerlinck said.

“The fact the parental leave is the only paid leave without super particularly disadvantages women, given they represent the overwhelming majority of people using the Government’s Parental Leave Pay and employer funded schemes.”

In the MCGPI, Australia managed to hold on to sixth place for another year, with its index value also rising from 75.0 to 76.8.

“We also call on the Government to undertake research to assess the impact of menopausal symptoms on women’s retirement age, with many women retiring many years earlier than intended. This leads to a loss of skilled women and a reduction their superannuation savings,” Scheerlinck said.

“These results will not distract us from our mission to advocate for improvements to our super system to ensure it provides benefits to all Australians, regardless of their gender, culture, education or socio-economic background.”