At Vision Super, we support measures to boost women’s retirement savings.
Currently, women make up the majority of the part-time and casual workforce. Before 2022, many of these working women did not qualify for superannuation guarantee (SG) payments because the government had set the threshold pay for employers to pay SG at $450 a month.
And many casual workers work multiple jobs but earn less than $450 a month from one employer – they were also missing out on super.
Vision Super advocated for the government to drop this threshold by lobbying the government, explaining the need for change to our members.
Gwen Blazely, a Vision Super member, and casual crossing guard of 25 years was fortunate enough to have her employer pay her superannuation before this legislation was introduced last year. This has allowed Gwen to continue to contribute to superannuation savings for many years after retiring from full-time work.
Gwen said, “I love my job, and even at 85, I don’t want to give it up anytime soon. Being paid super all these years has been a blessing, and I always encourage my daughter to contribute more to her super while she’s young to have financial freedom in retirement like me.”
Estimates show that before 2022, around 220,000 Australian women and 145,000 Australian men were missing out on around $125 million of superannuation contributions each year due to not satisfying the $450 monthly earnings threshold. [1]
Removing this threshold not only helps women like Gwen to boost their super savings but also provides superannuation coverage to all workers, easing the pressures on taxpayers to fund the government Age Pension
[1] Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia research