SUPER POWER - UNDERSTANDING IT
Women have 47% less in super than men (Source: 2014 report from The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia). We need to close the gap. There are many reasons for the gap but the main ones are:
Women earn on average 18% less than men so our super contributions are less
Women spend less time in the workplace than men - only 34% of women aged between 35 and 44 work full time compared to 75% of men so we have fewer years to contribute
Women work in lower paid jobs and are underrepresented in senior roles
Women spend longer in retirement – in 2013 the average of retirement for men was 59 whereas for women it is 50 (Source: ABS) and we live longer than men
Superannuation is a long term investment – it’s an investment in your future life quality. The money compounds over time so the more money you put in early the more it compounds.
Did you know according to ASFA (the national superannuation body) you need a minimum of $545,000 in superannuation to live a comfortable life?
We need to redress this balance to ensure we can care for ourselves and our families when we retire – a shocking fact to help illustrate the urgency - due to divorce and family break down older, single women are in danger of being the new face of homelessness. We need to ACT NOW, every day counts - if you aren’t sure what you can do here are some simple actions you can take:
Understand the system and have it work for you – are there co contributions and other benefits you could be accessing but you don’t know about them?
Aim to have only one account – multiple accounts cost money in fees which reduce your balance
Boost your contributions into super – super contributions currently attract less tax than your salary - 1 less glass of wine per week can add up to an additional $48,000 in super when you retire (Source: Superguru)
Due to the benefits of compound interest a dollar today is better than a dollar tomorrow so don’t put it off - start today – it’s never too early!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
