165
The Victorian Women’s Trust (2015) emphasised that amongst young Australian
women, there is a lack of confidence and consequently knowledge about how to
effectively plan for retirement. In their recommendations to the Senate Standing
Committee on Economics, the trust called for more targeted communication for
women to encourage them to engage with super. Critically, they emphasised that
there is a strong impetus for super funds to customise their communication to reflect
the lived experience of Australian women, stressing that information should be tailored to address barriers such as career breaks and unpaid care responsibilities. To
this end, information should be easy to understand and devoid of financial jargon.
Ali et al. (2015, p. 101) concur with this suggestion, arguing that there is a need for
more tailored information which reflects the life experiences and knowledge levels
of different demographics. Similarly, Women in Super noted that financial planning
training across Australia does not include gender awareness nor address the topic of
how gender can affect retirement planning (Wood and Buckley 2015). They argued
for greater gender-specific education which addresses insurance needs, asset allocation and the benefits of saving. It is clear there is a greater need to provide targeted
information to women and young adults vis-à-vis superannuation and how to understand and engage with their super. Consequently, in 2014, The Australian Taxation
Office (ATO) launched a campaign called ‘five-step super check’, which encouraged women to undertake five simple steps to ensure that they increase their super
savings. The campaign used social media, proactive media, and paid advertising: it
particularly targeted women aged 25–49 (Committee 2016). However, targeted educational programmes need to be embedded within a broader financial education and
literacy framework. In this regard, several suggestions to the Senate Standing
Committee on Economics stressed that there needs to be a stronger emphasis on
financial literacy programmes in Australian schools (Committee 2016). To assist
with financial education in schools, the OECD (2012) proposes a number of recommendations. For example, the financial literacy programme should be embedded
within a broader ‘coordinated national strategy’, and there should be a ‘learning
framework’ which articulates key goals, learning outcomes, content and pedagogical approaches. Finally, the OECD suggests that financial literacy should form a
‘core part of the school curriculum’. In this regard, instead of teaching financial
literacy as a stand-alone subject, it is recommended that financial concepts are integrated into core subjects such as mathematics, economics, social science or citizenship (OECD 2012). The payoff in investing in developing financial literacy
frameworks and programmes is ‘substantial’ (Behrman et al. 2012). In a US-based
study, Behrman et al. (2012, p. 303) show that financial literacy enhances the likelihood that individuals will make contributions to their retirement savings. Similarly,
in an Australian context, Professor Carsten Murawski stressed that ‘early intervention education is one of a number of avenues to systematically change peoples’
behaviour’. It is evident that within the scope sub-target 10.2, which calls for the
empowerment and promotion of the economic inclusion of all, there is sufficient
space to pay a greater heed towards developing a sustainable and comprehensive
financial education programme, particularly, a programme which focuses specifically on empowering young adults and women in key areas of retirement planning.
11 SDG 10 Reducing Inequalities
The Victorian Women’s Trust (2015) emphasised that amongst young Australian
women, there is a lack of confidence and consequently knowledge about how to
effectively plan for retirement. In their recommendations to the Senate Standing
Committee on Economics, the trust called for more targeted communication for
women to encourage them to engage with super. Critically, they emphasised that
there is a strong impetus for super funds to customise their communication to reflect
the lived experience of Australian women, stressing that information should be tailored to address barriers such as career breaks and unpaid care responsibilities. To
this end, information should be easy to understand and devoid of financial jargon.
Ali et al. (2015, p. 101) concur with this suggestion, arguing that there is a need for
more tailored information which reflects the life experiences and knowledge levels
of different demographics. Similarly, Women in Super noted that financial planning
training across Australia does not include gender awareness nor address the topic of
how gender can affect retirement planning (Wood and Buckley 2015). They argued
for greater gender-specific education which addresses insurance needs, asset allocation and the benefits of saving. It is clear there is a greater need to provide targeted
information to women and young adults vis-à-vis superannuation and how to understand and engage with their super. Consequently, in 2014, The Australian Taxation
Office (ATO) launched a campaign called ‘five-step super check’, which encouraged women to undertake five simple steps to ensure that they increase their super
savings. The campaign used social media, proactive media, and paid advertising: it
particularly targeted women aged 25–49 (Committee 2016). However, targeted educational programmes need to be embedded within a broader financial education and
literacy framework. In this regard, several suggestions to the Senate Standing
Committee on Economics stressed that there needs to be a stronger emphasis on
financial literacy programmes in Australian schools (Committee 2016). To assist
with financial education in schools, the OECD (2012) proposes a number of recommendations. For example, the financial literacy programme should be embedded
within a broader ‘coordinated national strategy’, and there should be a ‘learning
framework’ which articulates key goals, learning outcomes, content and pedagogical approaches. Finally, the OECD suggests that financial literacy should form a
‘core part of the school curriculum’. In this regard, instead of teaching financial
literacy as a stand-alone subject, it is recommended that financial concepts are integrated into core subjects such as mathematics, economics, social science or citizenship (OECD 2012). The payoff in investing in developing financial literacy
frameworks and programmes is ‘substantial’ (Behrman et al. 2012). In a US-based
study, Behrman et al. (2012, p. 303) show that financial literacy enhances the likelihood that individuals will make contributions to their retirement savings. Similarly,
in an Australian context, Professor Carsten Murawski stressed that ‘early intervention education is one of a number of avenues to systematically change peoples’
behaviour’. It is evident that within the scope sub-target 10.2, which calls for the
empowerment and promotion of the economic inclusion of all, there is sufficient
space to pay a greater heed towards developing a sustainable and comprehensive
financial education programme, particularly, a programme which focuses specifically on empowering young adults and women in key areas of retirement planning.
11 SDG 10 Reducing Inequalities