The worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression; super fund returns to slump to record lows, a rapidly deflating Australian dollar and dipping into the budget surplus – all bad news …….so it was a welcome relief to hear some good news amidst all the financial doom and gloom with the release of the Productivity Commissions report on Paid Parental leave.

Some might argue that now is the not the time to be talking about improving the lot of women, particularly in retirement, however its been a long time coming and its worth remembering that with, or without, any shortterm turnaround in share or commodity prices, Australia’s population is rapidly aging and more Australian women than ever are moving into retirement. Currently there are one million retired Australian women, with this figure expected to double to 2 million over the next two decades, and for the bulk of these women, retirement will mean an immediate, significant and sustained drop in living standards.