Salty Dingo
Women in NSW retire with 26% less super than men.
Source: ASFA, An update on superannuation account balances, 2025
Why this happens
The super gap is driven by:
- the gender pay gap
- time out of the workforce for caring responsibilities
- lower lifetime earnings.
These factors reduce super balances and increase the risk of financial insecurity in retirement.
What you can do
Small prompts can make a big difference.
Clear, timely messages such as reminders about superannuation and salary sacrificing options can help employees take action and stay engaged.
The Superannuation Employer's Guide below provides some simple workplace actions that can help your employees engage with their superannuation and plan for their future.
Superannuation Employer's Guide
Women retire with less super than men
While the gender pay gap in Australia is 11.5%, the superannuation gap is much greater at around 26%. The super gap is caused by the compounding effects of pay gaps and time out of the workforce (for parenting, caring and other responsibilities).
Did you know?
1 in 2 women don’t think they’re on track for a comfortable retirement.
The median super balance for women aged 60–64 is $163,218, compared to $219,773 for men.
65% of women have never estimated how much money they’ll need for retirement.
What employers can do to support women
Once a year, send employees a letter or email that:
- explains how employees can start salary sacrificing super contributions
- frames super contributions as an investment
- highlights how easy it is to change contribution arrangements
- suggests a salary sacrifice contribution amount (e.g. $50 a fortnight).
Send the communication just after a pay raise or bonus, or at the start of a new financial year.
What a good email looks like
example email
| Invest in your future – contribute to your super today You can save more for your future through salary sacrificing, where voluntary super contributions come out of your salary before tax. You can contribute any amount that works best for you. Some employees start by contributing $50 a fortnight. Even a small amount adds up over time. Start saving today in 4 easy steps 1. Open the salary sacrifice form [add link to HR form] 2. Select your superannuation fund 3. Enter the % of your income or $ amount you would like to contribute to your retirement savings 4. Click ‘submit’ |
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Why this works
Employees are less likely to salary sacrifice when they don’t know how.
An experiment with 12,000 employees found that a simple prompt in an email newsletter from an employer led to a 30% increase in employees changing their contribution arrangements.
Sending a prompt just after an annual pay raise or bonus, or at the start of a new financial year, helps leverage the motivating effect of temporal landmarks. Temporal landmarks are moments in time that stand out, like birthdays or the start of a new year. Evidence shows that people are more likely to set retirement savings goals at temporal landmarks.
During the onboarding process, ask employees if they would like to set up a salary sacrificing arrangement.
What a good onboarding request looks like
When you give an employee the superannuation standard choice form, give them a second form for setting up a salary sacrificing arrangement. In the form, explain what salary sacrificing is and ask them to choose if they would like to salary sacrifice or not.
example of paper form
Voluntary salary sacrificing super contributions |
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Why it can help women
Women are 3 times more likely than men to stop salary sacrificing when they change jobs. This is often the result of defaulting back to the super guarantee and not setting up a salary sacrificing arrangement again.
Including salary sacrifice at onboarding makes it easier for employees to continue or start contributing.
Review the process for how employees can start sacrificing super contributions. Try to make the process clearer, easier and faster by:
- reducing the number of steps
- writing clear step-by-step instructions
- explaining what salary sacrificing is
- putting information and forms in a place that’s easy to find.
What an easy process looks like
Create a simple form that employees can use to request changes to their salary sacrificing arrangements.
Change your salary sacrificing arrangements
2. How much would you like to contribute per fortnight?
3. What % of your income would you like to contribute per fortnight
SUBMIT FORM |
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Why this works
Small inconveniences can deter people from changing their contribution arrangements. If it seems like a hassle, people may put it off, particularly if they’re busy. In a survey, employees reported not salary sacrificing because they:
- didn’t have time (18%)
- didn’t understand the process (15%)
- had difficulty with the process (10%).
By making the process for changing contributions clearer, easier and faster, employees face fewer barriers to salary sacrificing.
Invite employees to participate in learning activities about building financial literacy (e.g. financial literacy programs or panel talks). As part of these learning activities, encourage employees to have conversations about their finances with trusted partners, family and friends.
What this looks like
Organise an open and honest panel talk with women who are respected experts in finance (e.g. financial advisors, educators or authors). In the panel talk, cover topics like:
- saving
- investing
- future planning.
The panel should provide simple, practical advice that anyone can understand. The panel should not assume attendees have previous knowledge, experience or skills. At the end, prompt attendees to write a plan for when they want to start a conversation with trusted partners, family and friends about their finances.
example email invite
Building wealth – the life-changing event you never got at schoolIf you’ve ever wished you’d learnt more about saving, investing and how to manage your finances – this event is for you. A panel of experts will share their own personal stories and experiences navigating their finances to build wealth. You’ll get simple advice on the things you can do now to set yourself up for life. After the event, stick around for a chat and some free snacks. Event detailsDate: X Time: X Location: X REGISTER NOW |
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Why it can help women
Women with higher financial literacy are more likely to engage with their super. For example, they are more likely to:
- seek information (including financial advice)
- interact with their super fund (e.g. check super balance, change super investments).
Supporting women to build financial literacy can help them engage in their super and improve their financial outcomes in retirement. Of employees who salary sacrifice, 29% reported being influenced by conversations with partners, family and friends about their finances.
Learning activities led by women can help break stigma and normalise women starting conversations about their finances.
Likewise, by asking women to plan when they want to start conversations about their finances, you can prompt them to commit to action.
Disclaimer
Information is general in nature and is not personal financial advice. Consider your circumstances and seek independent advice if needed.
Endnotes
Please note these references are current at time of publication. This webpage was published in June 2026.
Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), An update on superannuation account balances [PDF 1.7 MB], ASFA website, October 2025, accessed 27 May 2026.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Gender pay gap guide, ABS website, 21 February 2023, accessed March 2026.
NSW Government, NSW Women’s Strategy 2023–2026: Championing gender equality, NSW Government website 2023, accessed March 2026.
NSW Department of Customer Service (DCS), DCS Customer Sentiment Survey, internal report, NSW Government, 16 September 2024.
NSW Behavioural Insights Unit, Supporting women’s superannuation decision‑making and retirement income planning, internal report, NSW Government, 2024.
J Beshears, H Dai, K L Milkman and S Benartzi, ‘Using fresh starts to nudge increased retirement savings’, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, vol. 167, 2021, pp. 72–87, accessed March 2026.