The SMSF Association and Financial Services Council (FSC) are joining forces for a conference that will explore why women retire with substantially lower superannuation balances than men.
The Women, Super and Wealth Summit will be held in Sydney on 27 April.
The latest figures show that on average, women retire with super balances 46.6 per cent below those of men.
The issue will be examined from all angles over eight sessions that will feature some of the best thinkers in the Australian superannuation and wealth management sectors.
SMSF Association chief executive Andrea Slattery said the vitally important issue of women’s lower super balances demanded to be addressed.
“It’s an issue that has long concerned the association,” Slattery said today.
“We have actively worked to help women better understand their financial circumstances, fully aware of the fact that they often must deal with structural factors, such as broken work patterns caused by parenting responsibilities, that have far less impact on men’s capacity to save for retirement.
“But it’s not just an issue of addressing these structural issues, important as they are.”
It was also vital to get women, especially those starting their work lives, to understand superannuation and wealth building better than previous generations did, she noted.
“When you realise that 47 per cent of the more than 1 million SMSF trustees are women, then the importance of achieving this goal becomes self-evident,” she said.
FSC chief executive Sally Loane said providing women with more information and better advice improved their financial resilience and well-being, and that of their families, businesses and communities.
“This event will outline and demonstrate the critical role we can play to engage and empower women, particularly young women starting their careers, and drive positive change through education, innovation and good business practice,” Loane said.
The conference is sponsored by Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
