SMSFs leading on closing super gender gap

The self-managed superannuation funds sector has laid claim to closing the gender gap faster than Australian Prudential Regulation Authority-regulated funds.

The SMSF Association chief executive, Peter Burgess has said his organisation is backing the Federal Government’s decision to include payment of the superannuation guarantee in paid parental leave.

In doing so, he said the SMSF sector had been leading the way when it came to closing the superannuation balance gender gap, with balance gap in SMSFs steadily closing since 2017.

He pointed to research released last year by major SMSF software provider, Class, showing that between the 2017 and 2022 financial years, the gender balance gap for SMSFs administered on Class software had declined from 20.3% to 15.9%.

“Higher levels of member engagement combined with legislative changes which have enabled catch-up concessional contributions, contribution splitting and encouraged re-balancing strategies to stay within the transfer balance cap, have no doubt been a contributing factor,” he said.

“The evidence suggests the more engaged members are the greater the likelihood of closing the gender superannuation balance gap. Further policy support is needed to address this issue but including super payments in paid parental leave is a step in the right direction”, Burgess said.