The data shows that nearly 71 per cent of women now have super up from 66.2 per cent in 2021.
The percentage of men with super currently sits at 74.8 per cent.
The Roy Morgan data supports the ATO SMSF quarterly data which also shows more women than men had established self-managed funds in the September quarter of last year.
It was women in the 60–64 year age gap who were leading the charge in SMSF with 13.2 per cent of the share, followed by those in 75–84 years (13 per cent) and then 65–59 years (12.7 per cent).
More importantly, the average super balance for females has grown faster than males since 2012. Over the last decade, the average super balance of females grew by 38 per cent (to $154k), compared to males with an increase of 26 per cent (to $216k).
The average super balance held by females in 2012 was $111k or only 64.7 per cent of the male average of $172k.
The results are from Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey which is based on in-depth personal interviews conducted with over 500,000 Australians over the last decade including over 300,000 with super.
Apart from the potential for the loss in super contributions with interrupted employment for women, the most likely cause of the gap in balances is the fact that females with super and who are employed, have much lower average incomes than working males.
Females with super who currently work have an average income of $72.8k compared to males with $95.3k meaning the average income of females is equal to only 76.3 per cent of the male average, although this is up from a figure of 74.6% in 2018.
This figure is only slightly higher than the overall gender gap in the average super seen earlier which showed that on average females currently have only 71.2 per cent ($154,000) of the male average amount of super of $216,000.
Females across all age groups who currently work, have much lower average incomes than males – and the average wage of females as a percentage of males drops for every age group.
Females aged 18–24 on average earn 85.8 per cent of the wage of males of the same age – the closest income gap for any of the age groups. This figure drops to only 70.6 per cent for females aged 65+.
It is most likely that the lower average income of females with super is due to the fact that nearly half (45.3%) of employed females work part-time, compared to only 23.5 per cent of males according to the latest Roy Morgan employment figures for March 2023
Michele Levine, chief executive officer, Roy Morgan said the gender gap in super has increasingly come into focus in recent years as women’s workforce participation has increased but the disparity in average super between men and women has persisted with only marginal improvements over the last decade.
“Women in Australia continue to retire with far less super than their male counterparts even though the longer life expectancy at birth for women in Australia is more than four years higher than for men (85.4 vs. 81.3),” she said
“Roy Morgan’s latest research shows the average man has $216,000 in their super account compared to $154,000 for the average woman – only 71.2 per cent of the male average.
“This represents an increase of 6.5 per cent points over the last decade when the average super for a woman was only 64.7 per cent of that for the average man. At this rate of increase, it will take another 50 or so years before the gender gap in average super balances is finally eliminated.”
The research needs to be explained and clarified. Some of the reasons for the increase in females super balances is also from advice such as death benefit payments, sheltering strategies with an older partner, the ability to add further funds with the change in contribution rules or downsizer contributions, certainly not from an increase in income therefore SG contributions.
The increase in women opening SMSF’s, particularly over age 65, would also potentially be from a partner who has passed and they are becoming sole trustees, or a change in trustee status/members. There would not be too many FP’s who would recommend a 75-84 client (of any gender) to suddenly open a SMSF unless they had real property which makes the ongoing viability of it essential.