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Australia'S "Other" Gender Wage Gap: Baby Boomers And Compulsory Superannuation Accounts

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  • Therese Jefferson
  • Alison Preston

Abstract

Government budgetary pressures and demographic trends have made retirement income policy a priority in developed economies. One option for policy reform is to increase private saving. In Australia, legislation requiring compulsory employer payments for the purposes of retirement savings addresses this option. This system poses particular difficulties for women who have broken patterns of paid employment and relatively low wages. When simulations that project likely employment participation and retirement outcomes incorporate a gendered approach and focus on the “baby boomer” cohort, the results highlight the low probability that women will accumulate adequate independent private retirement income. Over their lifetimes, Australian women baby boomers will spend around 35 percent less time in paid employment than their male counterparts. The projected average gender gap in compulsory accumulations is of a similarly large magnitude. The results emphasize the continuing need for publicly financed redistribution schemes, such as the Australian age pension.

Suggested Citation

  • Therese Jefferson & Alison Preston, 2005. "Australia'S "Other" Gender Wage Gap: Baby Boomers And Compulsory Superannuation Accounts," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 79-101.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:11:y:2005:i:2:p:79-101
    DOI: 10.1080/13545700500115902
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Preston, A. & Austen, S, 2001. "Women, superannuation and the SGC," Australian Bulletin of Labour, National Institute of Labour Studies, vol. 27(4), pages 272-295.
    2. Bateman,Hazel & Kingston,Geoffrey & Piggott,John, 2001. "Forced Saving," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521481625, January.
      • Bateman,Hazel & Kingston,Geoffrey & Piggott,John, 2001. "Forced Saving," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521484718, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rohan Best & Noura Saba, 2021. "Quantifying Australia’s Gender Superannuation Gap," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 97(318), pages 410-423, September.
    2. Catherine Weiss & Debra Parkinson & Alyssa Duncan, 2015. "Living Longer on Less," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(3), pages 21582440155, July.
    3. Michelle Cull & Diana Whitton, 2011. "University Students' Financial Literacy Levels: Obstacles and Aids," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 22(1), pages 99-114, May.
    4. Elisa Birch & Alison Preston, 2021. "Women, COVID-19 and Superannuation," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 24(2), pages 175-198.
    5. Deborah A. Cobb‐Clark & Vincent A. Hildebrand, 2011. "Portfolio Allocation In The Face Of A Means‐Tested Public Pension," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 57(3), pages 536-560, September.
    6. Rachel Ong & Gavin A Wood & Melek Cigdem, 2022. "Housing wealth, mortgages and Australians’ labour force participation in later life," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 59(4), pages 810-833, March.
    7. Crawford, Megan M., 2019. "A comprehensive scenario intervention typology," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    8. Panha Heng & Scott J. Niblock & Jennifer L. Harrison, 2015. "Retirement policy: a review of the role, characteristics, and contribution of the Australian superannuation system," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 29(2), pages 1-17, November.
    9. Siobhan Austen & Therese Jefferson & Rachel Ong, 2014. "The Gender Gap in Financial Security: What We Know and Don't Know about Australian Households," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 25-52, July.
    10. Julie Smith, 2007. "Time Use Among new mothers, the Economic Value of Unpaid Care work and gender aspects of superannuation tax concessions," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 10(2), pages 99-114.
    11. Andrew Worthington, 2008. "Knowledge and Perceptions of Superannuation in Australia," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 349-368, September.
    12. Marilyn Clark-Murphy & Craig P. Speelman, 2007. "Decision Making Clusters in Retirement Savings: Preliminary Findings," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 10(2), pages 115-127.

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