Did you know that women need to have more money for retirement than men? Why would women need more money than men? I mean, everyone’s retirement is the same, right?
That’s because women live longer, but the reality is that men tend to have more in their superannuation savings than women. There are a few reasons for this gap.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, women tend to take less risks with their investments, which makes them less aggressive investors. This means they are likely to earn lower returns on their investments over the long term and on average, women still earn less than men.
If you put that together with career breaks women may take to have children, it can mean women miss out on thousands of dollars going into their super.
How do women close the gap?
There are strategies to help, like salary sacrificing a little extra into super. For example, if a 31 year old woman working full time, starts using salary sacrifice to contribute just $50 a week into her super, she could save an extra $125,862 by the time she retires at 67.
If you’re fast approaching retirement and have not done anything to minimise the gap, don’t panic. It is never too late to start. Perhaps you have the mortgage paid off and the children have left home. You may have a higher disposable income to help you make higher salary sacrifice contributions to your super. You may even be in a position to benefit, from a transition to retirement strategy, to help you boost your retirement savings, while earning a tax free income stream.
No matter what age you are, there are strategies to help you make the most of your super.
SOURCE: Colonial First State Investments Limited
This information is general information only. You should consider the appropriateness of this information with regards to your objectives, financial situation and needs.
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