Reliance on the age pension a real fear for women

By Grace Ormsby

January 22 2020
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Older Australian women are displaying more concern about having to rely on the Age Pension in retirement than their male counterparts, new research has revealed.

nestegg yesterday highlighted how retirement income worries are rife amongst older Australians and can today reveal that women are carrying the higher burden of that anxiety than men.

The survey found that nearly three in five women are worried about outliving their savings (59 per cent) compared to just 47 per cent of men.

National Seniors Association (NSA) flagged that “not only are retired women more worried than men, they are also more likely to be relying on the Age Pension as their main source of income”.

Women are also more likely to have less than $500,000 in retirement savings, which is below the ASFA comfortable standards, it was flagged.

Drilling down into the insights from the report, NSA said divorced women are among the most worried about their financial situation in retirement.

Of higher concern was the fact that concern levels were 47 per cent higher in women after taking out the effects of the above factors, as considered in the survey.

This was attributed to gender role expectations by the NSA, particularly related to expectations around carer responsibilities as well as the “real risk” of outliving their partners.

Weighing in on the report’s findings, Jeremy Cooper, Challenger’s chairman of retirement income, said disparities in earnings and working patterns have disadvantaged women and their wealth accumulation potential.

He emphasised the importance of improving superannuation outcomes for women, outlining how “super not only provides a reliable source of income, but also reduces worry for older Australians” before iterating how “our super system doesn’t cater for this difference in longevity”.

He also flagged how the research indicated a sentiment “that people treat the Age Pension and their own savings differently”.

“They fear running out of their own money, even though the safety net of the Age Pension will be there for them,” Mr Cooper noted.

“This sends a strong signal that people worry about being solely reliant on the Age Pension,” the retirement income expert said, flagging it as important that super funds explore ways of providing more lifetime income to their members.

About the author

Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

About the author

Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

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Retirement