Women face additional difficulties when it comes to accumulating enough superannuation for retirement with most being chronically underfunded, according to ING Direct.
Many women have a broken work pattern that reduces their ability to accumulate super, due to maternity leave and taking time out to bring up children.
“Mothers who choose to return to work often seek part-time employment to balance the demands of raising a family, resulting in less savings accumulating in their superannuation fund,” ING Direct chief operating officer Anne Myers said.
Recent Roy Morgan research showed that women have an average super balance of $92,000, which is 40 per cent less than their male counterparts.
Ms Myers explained that although women are often disempowered about their superannuation savings, there are steps which should be taken to boost savings.
She calculated that on a salary of $50,000 at 20 years of age, the nine per cent employer contribution will lead to a retirement balance of around $225,000.
“Just a small additional contribution from each pay can make an immense difference to your balance when you retire,” she said.
She also warned that extra care should be taken to the fees paid on their super.
“Many people are not aware of the impact of fees on their overall retirement funding – and are surprised to see the difference an option with low or no fees can make to their super balance and, as a result, their quality of life in retirement,” Ms Myers said.
“For a 20-year-old on $50,000 just making the standard nine per cent employer contributions – this could mean an additional $133,000 in retirement (a combination of fees and the compound interest on the fees saved),” she said.
Lastly, women should be extra vigilant at ensuring they have the right level of insurance cover for their needs.
“If you have multiple superannuation funds, you can often accidentally end up with multiple life insurance covers, as many superannuation funds offer insurance on an ‘opt out’ basis – that is, you’ll get insurance unless you choose not to,” she said.
“There is no magic bullet that can boost a woman’s superannuation savings but starting early, being very conscious of fees, making small additional contributions whenever possible, and making sure you have the right level of insurance cover for your needs could make a very big difference in the long term.”
