Planning to make a super impact

MANY women are financially disadvantaged in the workplace because they are paid less than men, which means their superannuation funds are also far less, but there are ways to reduce the gender gap.

According to the Australian Taxation Office, for Australians aged 55 to 59, men have an average of $51,000 more saved than their female colleagues.

That is the equivalent of more than 3½ years of contributions for workers on the median national salary of $70,000 a year.

UniSuper manager of select advice Renae Anderson said that figure was improving over time but still not where it needed to be.

“This issue comes about from the fact that women’s working pattern is slightly different,” she said.

“We’ve typically taken time out of the workforce to raise family or to care for family. We often return to the workforce in a part-time capacity, and we often hold the lower-paid jobs in the community.

“So it’s all of these things that have contributed to the issue.”

Ms Anderson said there were four key ways for women to boost their retirement savings. The first of these is spousal contributions.

“For women earning less than $37,000 per year, your spouse could generally contribute $3000 each year to your super and receive a $540 tax rebate,” she said.

“So this helps to top up your super while also providing a tax benefit to your spouse.”

Catch-up contributions are another strategy.

“If you have a total super balance of less than $500,000 – and you haven’t used all of your concessional contribution cap of up to $27,500 in previous years – you could make extra contributions,” she said.

Fees are also a big factor, according to Ms Anderson, who suggests that the ATO’s MySuper Comparison site is a great place to start to find the best deal that suits you.

Ms Anderson also advised that the earlier you start investing in super, the sooner your money worked for you.