Australia Scraps Pension Law Seen Crimping Women's Savings - Bloomberg
Australia’s parliament passed a bill overhauling aspects of its pensions system in an effort to lift retirement savings for women and close what has been a stubborn gender gap.
Starting in July, the nation will scrap the A$450 ($323.1) a month earnings threshold before which employers contribute cash to retirement funds, federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Superannuation Minister Jane Hume said on Thursday.
“This will remove an outdated structural feature of the superannuation system and in doing so will improve equity in the system,” Hume’s office said in a statement announcing the legislation’s passage.
The amendment was a key promise by Australia’s government last year in a bid to improve the financial security of women as the nation continues a fast-paced recovery from its first recession in about three decades in 2020. The government is seeking to improve its standing among women ahead of a national election due by May following series of sexual harassment scandals among the nation’s lawmakers.
The bill also includes a measure allowing earlier tax concessions for older workers contributing to their funds.
Even before the pandemic ravaged Australia’s economy, many women faced retiring with less savings than men, exacerbated by the gender pay gap and taking time out of the workforce to raise children. Women are entering retirement with about 28% less savings than men, while 36% of retired women rely on their partner’s income to meet living costs, according to government data.
Employers currently pay 10% of a worker’s gross salary into a retirement fund each month -- but the A$450 threshold meant many low paid and casual workers missed out.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia and individual funds welcomed the new laws on Thursday.
“The requirement to earn $450 per month with one employer before you get paid super has compounded financial insecurity for casual and part-time workers, who often have lower pay and are in insecure or precarious work,” Debby Blakey, the chief executive officer of pension fund HESTA, said in a statement.
source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-10/australia-scraps-pension-law-seen-crimping-women-s-savings
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.