Women should take a keen interest in their superannuation to prevent falling short on their retirement savings, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) said.
Assistant commissioner Megan Yong told the Women’s Super Summit she wanted to push women to start thinking about their super, as many are experiencing a shortfall.
On average, Australian women currently retire with super account balances of just $112, 600, she said.
“That’s much less than the amount a single woman needs for a $40,000 a year retirement income, which is at the lower end of the 'what’s adequate’ scale.
“It surprises a lot of people that putting the equivalent cost of one cup of coffee a day into your super can add up to an extra $128,000 when you retire,” she said.
Yong encouraged women to jump on to the ATO website and check what steps should be taken to boost retirement incomes in the long term.
Steps include checking their statements to ensure they are getting everything to which they are entitled, that their super fund has a tax file number so they do not pay too much tax, and seeing whether they are entitled to a government super contribution.
“Most importantly, put whatever extra you can afford into your account. As the cup of coffee example demonstrates, it can pay you back many times over.”
Michael Lovett, who left the investment firm just three months after launching its Vanguard Super offering, has taken up a chief executive role at an Australian asset manager.
The Central Bank of Ireland has granted the approval of Equity Trustees’ exit from its Irish operations, with the transaction expected to be complete on 30 April.
Super returns continued to climb in March, raising hopes of delivering double-digit returns by June depending on the performance of this next quarter.
The dedicated super fund for emergency services and Victorian government employees is under fire for unpaid entitlements to transport employees, which could exceed $40 million.
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