159
11.2.3 Voluntary Savings and Assets
The final pillar of Australia’s retirement system is private savings and assets.
Examples of items which are incorporated within this category include managed
funds; owner-occupied properties; investment properties; share portfolios; precious
metals; and cash in a bank account or term deposit (Agency 2017; Coates 2018; D.
o. t. Treasury 2009). As emphasised previously, the three pillars of Australia’s retirement system are modelled on the World Bank’s recommendation of flexible multipillar pension system (T. W. Bank 2001, 2006, p. xxii).
Vis-à-vis gender inequities women face in retirement, in recent decades, there
has been a gradual shift away from a predominantly state-funded pension model
towards a more privately funded system of retirement income, which can be limiting to women. Brunner and Thorburn (2008, p. 43) note there has been a shift
towards a greater emphasis on self-provision in retirement, either in full or part
through the superannuation guarantee. They further note that ‘people today have a
clear understanding that superannuation and private savings will be needed if they
are to have a comfortable retirement’. The stronger emphasis on the mandatory
superannuation guarantee can be limiting to women. As the subsequent section of
this chapter will explore, the current superannuation system in Australia limits
women from accumulating an equivalent super balance as men, this is largely
because the system is designed to reward full-time work and uninterrupted career
trajectories. However, as emphasised in the introduction, women are oftentimes
handicapped from accumulating the same superannuation savings as men, as they
are more likely to take on unpaid care work, work reduced hours or leave the
workforce (Bulbeck 2005; P. Commission 2013; Agency 2017). Accordingly, the
following section will explore these elucidatory variables in greater depth.
11.3 Superannuation and the Gender Gap in Retirement
Income
There are several key interrelated factors that hinder the ability of women to accumulate equal superannuation balances as men (Funds 2018; Hetherington and Smith
2017). These include the gender pay gap, interrupted career trajectories, family and
care commitments, gender segregation in the labour market and societal and cultural factors (McGrath 2015; Committee 2016; Agency 2017; Feng et al. 2019).
Hetherington and Smith (2017) argue that the confluence of variables and diverse
circumstances mean that women’s retirement income in Australia is a wicked problem (see Fig. 11.1).
It is evident that the variety of barriers to achieving equal financial security in
retirement is multifaceted. Consequently, this section will focus on four overarching
factors which impinge upon the ability of women to accumulate sufficient super
11 SDG 10 Reducing Inequalities
11.2.3 Voluntary Savings and Assets
The final pillar of Australia’s retirement system is private savings and assets.
Examples of items which are incorporated within this category include managed
funds; owner-occupied properties; investment properties; share portfolios; precious
metals; and cash in a bank account or term deposit (Agency 2017; Coates 2018; D.
o. t. Treasury 2009). As emphasised previously, the three pillars of Australia’s retirement system are modelled on the World Bank’s recommendation of flexible multipillar pension system (T. W. Bank 2001, 2006, p. xxii).
Vis-à-vis gender inequities women face in retirement, in recent decades, there
has been a gradual shift away from a predominantly state-funded pension model
towards a more privately funded system of retirement income, which can be limiting to women. Brunner and Thorburn (2008, p. 43) note there has been a shift
towards a greater emphasis on self-provision in retirement, either in full or part
through the superannuation guarantee. They further note that ‘people today have a
clear understanding that superannuation and private savings will be needed if they
are to have a comfortable retirement’. The stronger emphasis on the mandatory
superannuation guarantee can be limiting to women. As the subsequent section of
this chapter will explore, the current superannuation system in Australia limits
women from accumulating an equivalent super balance as men, this is largely
because the system is designed to reward full-time work and uninterrupted career
trajectories. However, as emphasised in the introduction, women are oftentimes
handicapped from accumulating the same superannuation savings as men, as they
are more likely to take on unpaid care work, work reduced hours or leave the
workforce (Bulbeck 2005; P. Commission 2013; Agency 2017). Accordingly, the
following section will explore these elucidatory variables in greater depth.
11.3 Superannuation and the Gender Gap in Retirement
Income
There are several key interrelated factors that hinder the ability of women to accumulate equal superannuation balances as men (Funds 2018; Hetherington and Smith
2017). These include the gender pay gap, interrupted career trajectories, family and
care commitments, gender segregation in the labour market and societal and cultural factors (McGrath 2015; Committee 2016; Agency 2017; Feng et al. 2019).
Hetherington and Smith (2017) argue that the confluence of variables and diverse
circumstances mean that women’s retirement income in Australia is a wicked problem (see Fig. 11.1).
It is evident that the variety of barriers to achieving equal financial security in
retirement is multifaceted. Consequently, this section will focus on four overarching
factors which impinge upon the ability of women to accumulate sufficient super
11 SDG 10 Reducing Inequalities