Making super contributions voluntary for people earning less than $50,000 a year, as proposed by Senator Andrew Bragg, would be a backward step for women.
And most women have much less super than most men.
In 2017, the median super balance for women aged 60-64 was $36,000. For men it was $110,000.
This is partly because women are much more likely than men to take time out of work or to work part-time to care for children and other family members, and partly because of the persistent gender pay gap.
The gender pay gap means women contribute less to superannuation and, as a result, are much more likely than men to experience poverty and hardship in retirement and will have to rely on the pension anyway, regardless of super.
Source: Voluntary super: a good way to increase women’s dependence on men