Let’s not pretend the ‘bad decisions’ of women are to blame for the gap in super balances
The gap between the retirement incomes of men and women will never be solved by information campaigns, decision-making tools or new websites.
Women earn around 17% less than men who perform similar work. Women are far more likely than men to take time out of the workforce early in their lives to raise children. Women are far more likely to take time out of the workforce to care for elderly parents. And women are far more likely than men to work part time in order to make their households work smoothly. All of these factors have a massive impact on the ability of women to accumulate retirement savings.
Australia is one of the richest countries in the world and we are at the richest point in world history. If we wanted to spend money to help boost the retirement incomes of women, or all retirees, we could do so.
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