• State Government guides for women to maximise their retirement savings
• Guides launched at Government’s third and final Women’s Consultative Forum

The State Government has launched two guides giving women four easy steps to get more out of their superannuation. 

Speaking at the third Women’s Consultative Forum, Women’s Interests Minister Liza Harvey said too many Western Australian women were retiring with too little to live on.

“When women retire they often have significantly less funds in their super accounts than men. Recent research shows a woman’s average balance of $68,600 is just over 60 per cent of the average balance for men,” Mrs Harvey said.

“Lower average salaries, taking time out of work for caring duties or working part-time are just some of the contributing factors to women having less super than men.

“For many women, dealing with superannuation is a daunting task – especially when juggling a career and home-life, or if you are running a business.

“Women from all income brackets may benefit from these guides.  A more secure retirement can be as simple as saving an extra $25 a week.”

The four simple steps for women to maximise their superannuation are:

• find lost super – if you have had more than one employer, you may have more than one super account that has your money in it
• rollover or combine super funds – multiple super funds can mean you pay more fees and lose track of your hard-earned money
• consider your investment options – different options grow your money at different rates and have different levels of risk
• make extra contributions – even small extra contributions can make a big difference to your super balance.

The women and superannuation resources come in two complementary publications – the Super Steps to Securing your Future action plan and the Understanding and Managing Your Superannuation information booklet.