The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has joined calls for better superannuation arrangements for women.
"The ASFA submission recognises the challenges in saving for retirement faced by many women, given absences from the paid labour force due to family responsibilities and also the greater incidence of part-time work for women," the association said in its pre-budget submission to Treasury.
ASFA recommended the $450 a month earnings threshold for receiving the superannuation guarantee (SG) contribution be abolished.
"This would benefit around 200,000 women and 130,000 men, with many receiving an extra $1000 or more of superannuation contributions each year," ASFA said.
The association also supported the introduction of superannuation contributions on paid parental leave.
"The payment of paid parental leave is a major social advance and this should be complemented by the provision of superannuation contributions linked to these payments," ASFA chief executive Pauline Vamos said.
Another measure that would assist women would be for the contribution caps for concessional contributions to be fixed at $50,000 for those under 50 and $100,000 for those aged 50 and over.
Many Australians aged 40 and over had not had the opportunity to receive the benefit of a steady stream of superannuation contributions, ASFA said.
With a return to full-time work, many women in their 40s and 50s have both the capacity and the desire to make substantial catch-up superannuation contributions.
"We know there is widespread support for better retirement outcomes for Australians. Now is the time to allow people, particularly women, with lower account balances and lower incomes to start to catch up," Vamos said.
Earlier this month, the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees also submitted proposals to Treasury to improve the superannuation savings of women, including the introduction of a superannuation component to both parental leave payments and the baby bonus.
Both organisations also stressed the importance of legislating the proposed increase of the SG from 9 per cent to 12 per cent.
