Nearly half of Australian workers have three months’ or less savings in the event of a disability which prevents them from working, and almost a third of women only having one month of savings, MLC Life Insurance research finds.
It found that while 22 per cent of men have savings of less than a month, the same is true for 35 per cent of women, demonstrating a 59 per cent gap.
The research demonstrates that it is also men who are more likely to be comfortable at the other end of the spectrum. While 19 per cent of Australian men have a savings buffer of two years or more, just 11 per cent of women live with the same level of financial security.
Conducted by Freshwater Strategy, the research aimed to challenge government-mandated default design of disability insurance to include only Total and Permanent Disability.