It’s probably no surprise to hear that Australian women often retire with less money
than their male peers. New research* by CFS confirms that even in 2024, this is still
the case.
There are several reasons for this, including well-documented wage gaps and the
uneven burden of raising a family which often results in women taking breaks in their
careers. There is approximately only 1 female Financial Planner per 5 Financial
Planners. I’ve been in the industry since 2003, so if you can spare your time to seek
advice from me, you’re almost guaranteed a different experience than is the norm for
most Financial Planners.
Not only do women end up investing less money through super over their careers,
but this means they’re also missing out on the compounding effects that future
returns will have on their balances.
And CFS found that while 78% of men have made plans for their financial future,
only 67% of women had done similar. Women were also less likely to set financial
goals*. That’s because we’re doing the daily tasks to get through the day right!
“When were you going to tell me, you have to have a costume for school today?”
“Wait what, you left your right shoe in your school locker?” …ahhh “please just eat
your peas tonight”.
All is not lost, though. Read on for some simple steps that will help women start to
take control of their super and their future.
Financial Knowledge is power!
It’s important to note that women care about their finances just as much as men do.
In fact, women are more likely to feel worried about their finances or guilty that
they’re not doing enough to manage finances compared to their male peers*.
So, what’s holding you back? CFS research shows one major hurdle is confidence –
or more specifically, that women aren’t as confident with money and investing as
men*. It’s hard to make good financial decisions when you don’t trust that you know
what a ‘good’ decision looks like. Trust is a major hurdle when it comes to your
finances, I’ve heard the stories too. But you trust the car mechanic, the
builder/tradesfolk, the travel agent, and dentist to do their professional jobs, you hear
those stories too. I keep a simple philosophy when investing your money, it’s your
money! My role is to ensure you understand how you are investing your money and
if you don’t, I won’t!
Luckily, financial confidence is strongly linked to knowledge. The more we know
about super and investing, the more confident we can be in our decisions.
What’s more, there are several easy ways for women to brush up on their financial
knowledge and be able to back themselves.
Is There Good News?
Australian borrowers breathed a sigh of relief with the double rate pause, while the
announcement of Michele Bullock taking over as RBA governor was well-received.
She will become Australia’s first female central bank leader in the RBA’s 63-year
history and will serve a 7-year term. Now that’s Girl Power!
Some economists are suggesting that interest rates have now reached their peak.
Others remain uncertain; however, it certainly signals a slowdown in pace and
lessening rate hike pressures.
Regularly Check up on Your Super
Many people approach their super with a ‘set-and-forget’ mindset, but this
attitude can leave you in the dark when it really matters.
Aim to regularly check in on your super, making sure your contact details are
right (so you’re receiving all the important information and notices) and that
you’re happy with the performance of your investment option. Let’s face it
ladies, we know we are the ones with less in our supers because we cease
work to do the real work of raising a family – there is no better, longer, least
financially rewarding job out there than being a Mum/Grandma! So, its vitally
important that your super is invested for long term better returns. I can show
you how to achieve this, to me it’s easy, but don’t ask me to go shopping, I’d
prefer to read an economic update.
Bring it all Together
Most Australians have more than one super account and are paying multiple
sets of fees as a result. Consolidating all your super into one account can help
you save on fees and make your super easier to manage.
What’s more, you may even have super money that you’ve forgotten about.
According to the ATO, there’s more than $16 billion in ‘lost’ super as at 30 June
2023 – accounts which have stopped receiving regular deposits, typically after
someone has changed their job, name or address.
Ladies, if you had $100,000 invested in a bank account would you never check
on the fees it was paying or the performance it was getting… really would you
leave it there “unchecked”? So why are you leaving your Super “unchecked”?
It’s your money… at the end of the day…
Top Up Your Super
We know most women have lower super balances than men , but the power
of compounding (where you earn interest on your money AND on the interest it
has earned) means you can start making a difference today. The sooner you
can get your super working harder, the longer it has to work!
Build Your Finincial Knowledge Base
Ladies, I get it! There are so many distractions in life, especially when raising
kids, and having time and space to learn about your super is likely the last
thing you have any head space left for. Give yourself a few hours, come have a
coffee and chat with me about your finances! I love economics, I love making
money for others, I love saving taxes and making sure you aren’t giving too
much of your money away to your bank.
Build your Knowledge on How to Invest
There are so many different investment options, you can invest in a “Chanel”
handbag or a “Kmart” version. Sometimes the Kmart version is all you need but
there are times you want the strength and longevity of the “Chanel”.
Remembering that you can invest in a range of different colours and textures
too, investing is just like handbag shopping, once you know the difference
between “Gucci” and “Guess”! (I had to google this, but I can educate you on
the difference between an active and index investment ).
So, let’s Go Girls! (Thanks Shania)
Find your super statement, get your banking app ready and let’s have a chat
about how I can put you in a Stronger Financial Position Now!
It International Women’s Day, do yourself a favour and Reach out to Tammy on
0432 186 800 or send us an email and tell us what is the biggest “financial worry”
that you have and we’ll give you a call back to work out a Strong Plan to overcome it!
P.S Tammy raises two children and generally works within normal working hours,
Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm, please allow up to 5 working days to respond to all
emails.
* Source: CFS commissioned survey of 2,966 Australians and research was completed in March
2023. Findings and statistics in this article are based on this research.
^ Source: Australian Families Then & Now: Income and wealth (aifs.gov.au)
Such great advice! It's so easy for women to be so busy making everything around them happen, we don't take time to think of our day to day needs let alone our financial future.