Sally RoseSally RoseSeptember 11, 2017 | 2.00pm
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Women in Super has embarked upon one of its most ambitious projects to date, with the official launch of the nationwide Make Super Fair campaign.

“The current super system is not fair, efficient or sustainable and we have a plan to change it,” Women in Super (WIS) national spokeswoman Cate Wood said.

Wood said the primary objective was to build on the success of the WIS-led campaign that helped save the former Labor government’s low-income superannuation contribution (LISC)in the 2016-17 federal budget, albeit re-imagined by the Coalition Government as the low-income superannuation tax offset (LISTO).

“[The campaign involves] the introduction of a range of focused policy measures designed to improve retirement outcomes for women and low-income earners,” Wood said.

She made the comments in a media release circulated ahead of the Make Super Fair campaign’s official launch party at Foy’s Arcade in Melbourne on the evening of Monday, September 11, 2017.

Speaking to Investment Magazine, Wood said the organisation is ready for two years of focused policy campaigning in the lead up to the next federal election, to ensure steps are taken to make the nation’s retirement income system more equitable.

“We will be campaigning hard over the next two years in the lead up to the election…or for as long as it takes,” said Wood, who is also the chair of CareSuper.

As a starting point, the campaign is seeking to raise awareness of statistics that highlight how a complex web of workforce and social trends intersect with the superannuation, housing, social security and taxation systems to result in the average Australian woman being heavily disadvantaged in retirement.

  • Women still retire with 47 per cent less super than men.
  • Roughly 40 per cent of single women are retiring below the poverty line.
  • Women are more dependent than men on the age pension.
  • The fastest-growing cohort of homeless people is single, older women.

Wood thanked a number of WIS industry partners for getting behind the campaign, noting support from the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees, AustralianSuper, CareSuper, Cbus Super, First State Super, HESTA Super, Industry Fund Services, Industry Super Australia, Industry Super Property Trust, Link Group, Rice Warner, StatePlus, UniSuper and more – with the list growing by the week.

WIS wants people to show their support for the campaign on social media using the hashtag #MakeSuperFair and is encouraging supporters to share stories and images of important women in their lives.

 

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