A comfortable retirement - part of the Australian way of life - right?

We've all heard the reports about the inequality of pay between men and women in the workforce, and the sacrifices and campaigning that many of our forbears have undertaken to try and right this in-balance.

But hiding in the shadows is a much greater problem that has the potential to impact more significantly on women, and their standard of living in the future.

Recently conducted research shows that the current settings for superannuation are insufficient to provide women with their expectations of a comofortable living standard in retirement (source: Superannuation Savings Gap for Women - March 2010). Significantly, many women will end up on a full Age Pension in the later years of their retirement.

More worrying is the commonly expressed opinion that '...it doesn't really matter if I don't save now - there's always the pension in retirement.' What most women don't seem to understand is that whilst the Age Pension benefit is a safety net which alleviates poverty in retirement, it is not intended to provide a comfortable retirement.

For women who choose to have children, there is likely to be some time spent away from work, followed by a period of time where part time work is completed. This not only leads to reduced income (and therefore savings), and reduced superannuation contributions, but can also lead to a reduction in the promotions offered (and therefore career advancement) and total earning capacity is affected.

These issues all have an adverse impact on the final retirement benefits of women.

So - we've identified that there are a number of challenges facing us down the track - but what can we do NOW that will help gives us a more comfortable living standard in retirement?

1. Start today - no matter what your age, your occupation, where you are in your life - start NOW and make positive changes that can impact on your future. Tomorrow is too late, and it's too easy to say 'I'll get around to it' - stand up and take control of your financial future.
2. Find a qualified, professional Financial Adviser to assist you in making sure that your super is doing the best i possibly can for you.
3. Make sure you completely understand the ins and outs of any investment you make - this will make it easier for you to say 'No' to investments that wont work for you.
4. Create a disciplined approach to investment (whether it be your super or non-super savings). Without discipline you can expect to have a meagre standard of living in retirement.
5. Don't get caught up in the myths that surround money - find the process that works for you and stick to it. No matter how much you earn, a disciplined appraoch will assist you in creating a comfortable standard of living in future years.

Having financial control doesn't fall into your lap by mistake - it takes a conscious effort to get everything set up and working for you.

Why wait to be wealthy? Addwealth for Women have developed a number of strategies that can easily help keep you on track to achieving your financial goals.

Call Addwealth for Women today on - 08 9284 3144 or register online at www.addwealthforwomen.com.au

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