Practical ways women can fill the superannuation gap with Mary Delahunty
The fight to help women level their superannuation up with their male counterparts requires a strong stance on two fronts. Practical help for today's retiring women and a battle for tomorrow's too.
It’s International Women’s Day this week so we need to talk about the place where disparity is most felt by women in the second half of life, and that’s your superannuation. Too many women only figure out that they have been heavily disadvantaged over their lifetime as they approach retirement. The system isn’t set up fairly and it’s time we talked about it.
So in episode 15 of Prime Time we talk with the CEO of the Association of Superannuation Funds Australia (ASFA) Mary Delahunty about the practical ways that women with lower super balances can navigate their pre-retirement and retirement years, and optimise their position to achieve the best possible standards of living despite their disadvantaged super funds.
We also talk about the very important systemic changes needed in superannuation to prevent this problem in the future. Mary has some terrific ideas that policy advisers and governments might listen more to if the women’s voices around it were louder.
Mary Delahunty is a passionate advocate for women, fighting for the equal opportunity to build super fairly, and spends a huge amount of time campaigning the government to the challenges women face, more seriously.
In her role at ASFA, Mary Delahunty is one of the women who can really make a difference. So it’s a refreshing and entertaining conversation, perfectly timed for women’s day.
Listen now
LISTEN HERE - LATEST EDITION (E15) - OMNY
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What’s in the podcast:
Why women in their 50s and 60s have lower super balances in 2024 and why no one has taken steps to remedy the situation.
How we could reframe the conversation politically, simply by renaming children as "beautiful little tax-payers" - a witty look at how simply the narrative could change quickly.
The important role of women in the workforce and the home, and the ongoing battle for fair treatment on both frontiers. And, how women’s superannuation is being left behind.
Some practical steps that women in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond can take if their superannuation balances are lower to try to level the playing field or at the very least, improve their position. We discuss savings and investment opportunities in the pre-retirement phase.
Women need to go looking for ‘the sweet spot’ - a way to balance the age pension and a small income stream from your super to maximise your income in retirement.
Controlling your cost of living in retirement and still managing to seek out the ‘epic bits’ of life. Why budgeting for retirement is different and what you might need to consider.
The one important thing every woman going through divorce should know about the house and the superannuation so they do get a fair go.
Superannuation might look boring, but it is probably one of the two largest assets most women will ever own. So it is very important for women to understand it.
LATE BREAKING NEWS: On the day of release of this podcast, the Labor Government will announce a groundbreaking move to get superannuation paid on top of the Commonwealth’s paid parental leave. Senator Katy Gallagher, Minister for Women and Finance will announce the changes as she unveils Labor’s national gender equality strategy on Thursday 7th March 2024. She says the policy will help close the superannuation gap between men and women.
Parents with babies born from July 1 next year will get 12 per cent superannuation on top of the 20 weeks of Commonwealth paid parental leave, a move recommended by the government’s Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce and long campaigned for by other major women’s groups.
This is one powerful step towards closing the gap for future generations.
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