How much super do women need?

We all need to plan ahead for our retirement, but certain factors make superannuation scenarios for men and women quite different.

Women need more super than men because the average woman will live 4 years longer than the average Australian man¹. They’ll also retire with 38% less super than men². This is because superannuation is accrued through continuous work history, but women are more likely to take time out from work to have children or look after family members. Not all women return to work after having children, but if they do then just 25% will work full time³. Women are overly-represented in lower-paying roles (Just 16.5% of CEOs in Australia are women⁴) and make up 68% of part-time employees⁵ and 52% of casual employees. When you also take the gender pay gap into account⁶, they’re likely be paid 15% less than their male peers doing the same role with the same experience and responsibilities.

However, these figures are based on national averages and no individual is ‘average’ by any definition other than those they accept.

Every person, of any gender, can take greater control of their financial futures by arming themselves with information and making small decisions now which could pay great returns in the future.

Australians have higher expectations of their standard of living in retirement, partly because we’re living longer and staying healthier for longer than previous generations.

So exactly how much money will you need for a comfortable lifestyle?

According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), a single female living a comfortable lifestyle will need super savings of $545,000⁷ and couples will need $640,000 of combined savings on retirement.

However, ASFA’s budget for a “comfortable” lifestyle, shown below, may not match the retirement lifestyle you want.