Have superannuation savings for women improved?

While the average superannuation balances of intending retirees over the last decade have doubled for both genders, women’s averages remain well behind the male average, according to Roy Morgan.

Data from the research company’s latest Single Source survey showed that the average super balance held by women intending to retire in the next 12 months was $177,000, just 57.3 per cent of the male average of $309,000.

As the average super balance held by women in 2008 was 55.2 per cent of men’s, there had been no real improvement over the last decade.

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Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia)

“Despite real gains in employment for women over the last decade, they still lag males in terms of full-time and overall employment levels,” Roy Morgan industry communications director, Norman Morris, said.

“The end result of this lower income and interrupted employment being more likely for women, has been that over the last decade they have been unable to close the gap to males and generally show inadequate superannuation for retirement.

“It is likely to take some considerable time and changes to superannuation conditions for females to achieve an adequate level of superannuation more equivalent to their male counterparts.”

The survey also found that an estimated 392,000 people intended to retire in the next 12 months.