HESTA has called on the next government to undertake urgent policy reforms to improve the financial security of women in retirement.
At a roundtable event on Monday, in the lead up to International Women’s Day next week, HESTA said that paying superannuation on Commonwealth parental leave pay must be a priority for the next government within its first 100 days.
In addition, HESTA has urged for a new “carer's credit” to be introduced to compensate parents for super lost due to unpaid parental leave and for the government to provide universally accessible and affordable childcare.
“There have been some significant reforms such as abolishing the $450 wages threshold for superannuation and improved super splitting arrangements, however, more needs to be done to improve financial security for future generations of women,” said HESTA CEO Debby Blakey.
“An incoming government needs to prioritise long-overdue superannuation equity measures and boost women’s workforce participation through improved access to affordable childcare.”
Parental leave is currently the only form of paid leave that does not attract super. Data from the government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency in 2019 showed that women accounted for 93.5 per cent of primary carer’s leave.
Industry Super Australia has also been vocal in its support for paying super on parental leave and has estimated that a mother of two could be left $14,000 worse off in retirement due to not receiving super payments.
“Addressing gender inequity will not only create a better society but has real economic benefits that can help investors like HESTA deliver better outcomes for their members,” said Ms Blakey.
HESTA said that the introduction of a carer's credit would have a substantial impact on the retirement outcomes of women and signal that unpaid care work is valued.
“We have an opportunity, as Australia starts to recover from the pandemic, to create a better normal,” said Ms Blakey.
“Taking substantive action now to address these persisting inequalities will make for a fairer Australia but will also boost productivity and economic growth, which benefits everyone.”
