Women are being made $26,000 poorer in retirement due to unpaid super
A new report by the Super Members Council has found women are being hit hard by the scourge of unpaid super, costing the typical working woman more than $26,000 less in savings by retirement.
This feeds the gender super gap, which sees women retiring with a quarter less super than men.
New analysis shows one in four working women in Australia are underpaid super each year, with a typical working woman missing out on an average of $1,300.
Collectively, Australian women were underpaid a staggering $1.9 billion in super contributions in a single year. Over the past decade, that adds up to $15.5 billion in unpaid super owed to women.
Young, low-income women are the worst hit by unpaid super. About half of women in their 20s and 30s earning less than $25,000 were not paid some or all of the super they earned.
Half of women affected by unpaid super are community and personal service workers, professionals, and clerical and administrative workers – which includes childcare workers, aged care workers and nurses.
The current gender gap in super balances is already stark, with women retiring with a quarter less super than men due to time out of the workforce to care for children and other family members, underscoring why women are hit harder when their super goes unpaid.
An urgent reform to help curb these shocking losses is payday super laws.
Payday super would create a simpler system for workers and employers than the current legal requirement for super to be paid only once a quarter – and protect and grow the retirement savings of millions of Australians. Many employers already do this.
The Australian Government has pledged to start payday super laws from 1 July 2026; but this urgent legislation wasn’t introduced in the first Parliamentary sitting fortnight this month, risking delays that could further hit the retirement savings of millions of women.
SMC is calling on the Government to urgently legislate payday super by introducing the laws in the next sitting fortnight to enable a smooth transition by the ATO, businesses and super funds.
The council is also pushing for more proactive compliance and stronger enforcement by the ATO – and wants to extend the Fair Entitlements Guarantee to include workers’ super after a business collapses.
Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert says Australian women – especially women in low-paid jobs – would be hit hardest from any delay to payday super laws.
“The numbers are stark. Working women in Australia are already retiring with a quarter less super than men—and unpaid super is making it harder to close that gap,” Ms Schubert said.
“Women in low-paid, insecure or part-time jobs are hit hardest by unpaid super, and they are often the same women who take time out of the workforce to care for others. They’re short-changed twice.”
“Fixing this is not just about fairness—it’s about economic security for millions of Australian women.”