Superannuation fears for women over 50 amid looming recession

Women in this age group generally have less superannuation than their male counterparts, with four in 10 women (44 per cent) reporting strong concerns about the rising cost of living. This compares to 35 per cent of men in the same age group, according to new research obtained by ACM.

Many more women (37 per cent) than men (28 per cent) also have strong concerns about the impacts of a major recession on their super savings.

More than 5000 people aged 50 years and older were surveyed in the Australian Seniors research and asked why the super gender gap existed.

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Many (76 per cent) said it was due to ongoing systemic barriers like career punctuation, more women in lower paying industries (59 per cent), the gender pay gap (55 per cent), and a lack of financial confidence among women (20 per cent).

Wealth Designers senior financial adviser Dawn Thomas told ACM career breaks, wages, divorce and caring occupations have an impact on an individual's super balance.

"A number of life events uniquely experienced by Australian women, cause the compounding of the super gap, which in turn has devastating impacts on women's economic security," she said.

"For the most part, many Australians are disengaged with their super accounts, unfortunately, women over 50 can't afford to not be engaged.

"Being a passive financial participant is not a luxury women have, and even more so with the recession looming, women should be taking more control of their positions."

If you're unfamiliar with your super balance and contributions, Ms Thomas said a good place to start is by understanding what you want for the next 30 to 40 years.

"Whether that be changing your home or car, travelling, or how you would like to spend retirement," she said.

As a first step, understand how much comes in and out of your household - and weigh this up against how much you will need in retirement - to develop a retirement budget.

It may be helpful to consult The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) Retirement Standard to get a sense of average retirement figures and then work backwards using your wish list (i.e., travel) to calculate how much you need in your super.

This tells you about your setup and will help you plan.

Make additional contributions. There are multiple ways to contribute to super whether they are tax-deductible, tax-free, from an individual or contributed via a spouse.

"Everyone learns about money at their own pace, so don't let yourself quit by believing that you simply 'don't get it'," Ms Thomas said.

"There are plenty of videos, articles, books, and podcasts available to help improve your financial literacy in different ways."

If you need additional support achieving your personal goals, consult a financial adviser.

"A healthy financial process is one where you feel comfortable enough to collaborate with your adviser and feel empowered to ask any questions and make your own decisions," Ms Thomas said.