The Qantas Super CSBA Retirement Confidence Index shows that women have far less confidence than men that they will have enough money for a comfortable retirement.

“These findings highlight deep concerns around the realities of retirement for women and the perception that they will not be able to adequately fund a dignified retirement,” Dr Martin Fahy, chief executive of Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, said.

“The lack of confidence reflects how women are retiring today, with average balances at retirement a little over half those of men. Whilst the gap is gradually closing, more needs to be done to address the disparity,” he said.

“Today, around 50 percent of women retire with a very low superannuation balance under $50,000, compared with 33 per cent of men. Unless we take active steps to fix this problem, confidence will remain low,” said Dr Fahy.

The government is being pushed to create systemic change to cater for a growing population of female workers, including:

• Removing the $450-a-month threshold for superannuation guarantee
• Paying Superannuation Guarantee on paid parental leave and other income replacement payments (such as salary continuance and worker’s compensation)
• Maintaining the Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset that provides tax refunds and makes superannuation fairer for those on low incomes
• Enabling employers to contribute more for women without being considered to have breached anti-discrimination legislation

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