iscoverAustralia could be at risk of driving its older women into poverty as they enter retirement as gender gaps in superannuation continue to worsen, the peak super body has revealed.
‘Bold action’ required on super to protect older women from poverty
01 October 2025
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8 minute read
Older Australian women who are either single or renting may be at risk of retirement poverty if “bold action” in the super system is not taken sooner rather than later.
In a new Super Members Council (SMC) report by Impact Economics and Policy, it was found that gender gaps in super caused by major life events worsened women’s economic security, which could therefore impact their retirement down the track.
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According to SMC, women today retired with 25 per cent less than men, as the median super balance of women aged 60–64 was $51,000 lower than for men, and women were around 10 per cent more likely to have no super at all.
Misha Schubert, SMC CEO, said the report was a wake-up call for policymakers, with compelling new insights about the lived experiences of older women in retirement.
“Australia has made important strides in recent years on the gaps in pay, super and workforce participation, but this research shines a spotlight on the need for further bold reforms to ensure our retirement system truly works for women – especially low-income women,” she said.
“Without urgent action, generations of Australia’s lowest-paid women risk poverty in retirement. Recent reforms are an important start, but an even bigger and bolder approach is needed.”
SMC noted without bold action, the looming crisis of older women entering retirement in poverty was a reality, as historically the gender super gap was seen to have been driven by inequalities in female participation and pay.
Based on the inequalities and report findings, the peak super body said it was urging the Australian government to make further strides to bridge the gender super gap with the right policy settings.
The report recommended that the Australian government unfreeze the low-income tax offset, close gendered loopholes in super coverage, remove barriers to women’s workforce participation by boosting access to childcare and aged care, and enable fairer splitting of super in divorce settlements.
Boosting Commonwealth Rent Assistance to give immediate help and making the super and age pension systems simpler and easier to navigate were also proposed within the report.
These suggestions were included as it was found that common “later-in-life events” such as separation, unpaid caregiving for older relatives, and family violence were more likely to force women into early retirement or part-time work.
Schubert said these events dramatically eroded women’s ability to save for retirement and could mean up to $95,000 less in super.
“Rising numbers of single older women are now also renting, with nearly 60 per cent of older female renters already living below the poverty line,” she said.
“The report shows policies allowing women to withdraw super early for house deposits would make women significantly poorer in retirement, with less income to live on. Previous research shows it would also worsen housing affordability.”
Schubert also added that certain reforms, like the paid parental leave scheme, should result in fewer women needing to take large career breaks and more workforce flexibility to lessen the risk of being forced into early retirement.
“However, despite some progress, men’s super will continue to outpace women’s as life events and a lack of targeted policy interventions continue to prevent greater female workforce participation,” Schubert said.
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