1 Draw up a list of the factors that you see as contributing to the relatively low super balances of women retirees. A pressing social issue in Australia’s superannuation system is the enormous gap in retirement savings between male and female workers. Whereas Australian men who retired in 2016 had an average superannuation balance of $271,000, women workers retired with an average balance of just $157,000. In part, this is because women experience more career breaks and are more likely to work in casual and other non-permanent jobs; jobs which until recently were not covered by mandatory employer superannuation payments.

Since 2016 there has also been an additional policy-related impediment in play here. In Australia, the lifetime limit for money that can be transferred into a superannuation pension account is $1.6 million. At the same time, the concessional, or pre-tax, contribution limit for super is $25,000 a year and the after tax, or non-concessional limit is $100,000. This makes it difficult for women in their 40s and 50s to get close to the $1.6 million, even if they have the money to do so. Removing the annual contribution caps would allow women (and men) to top up their super in a meaningful way