Retirement
Should superannuation be a shared goal?
Women currently retire with 47 per cent less funds than men due to the gender pay gap as well as career interruptions associated with children.
Should superannuation be a shared goal?
Women currently retire with 47 per cent less funds than men due to the gender pay gap as well as career interruptions associated with children.
One method suggested to help solve this is for couples to combine superannuation accounts, but would it work?
According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), the estimated average couple requires $640,000 to retire comfortably, on the assumption super is received as a lump sum and the beneficiary receives a part Age Pension.
In a conversation with nestegg, Laura Wright, CEO of NGS Super, discussed how super can be a collective goal for couples but with each member having separate superannuation accounts.
Ms Wright believes solving the issues that are causing worsening retirement outcomes for women is the way forward instead of simply combining accounts with men.
“Combining super accounts doesn’t address those issues and could potentially make it more difficult for women to achieve financial independence or make it harder for someone to leave an unhealthy relationship,” Ms Wright explained.
Instead, the superannuation expert advocated for couples that are taking a joint approach to their finances to take advantage of tax benefits.
“There are plenty of things both partners can do to boost their own super, such as salary sacrificing and making after-tax contributions when they receive a windfall,” Ms Wright said.
“They may be able to take advantage of spouse contributions, where the higher-earning partner contributes to the lower-earning partner’s super.
“They may also want to look at contribution splitting, which can have tax advantages for the higher-earning partner – this only applies to certain types of contributions and needs to be set up with your super fund.”
Finally, Ms Wright suggested that couples with joint financial goals should have a conversation around superannuation.
“When couples are discussing their financial goals, they remember to consider super in that conversation. This includes making sure that they have made decisions about beneficiaries and any insurance they hold through their funds,” she concluded.
nestegg recently reported that the reliance on the Age Pension is a real fear for women.
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