Don’t let your retirement savings become a super-massive black hole

How do you think your boss would feel if you opened the till at work, took cash out, and kept it for yourself?

That’s stealing, right – you’d probably lose your job.

Turn the situation around: How would you feel if your boss opened your wallet, took cash out, and kept it for themselves – and got away with it?

You might think that sounds crazy, but that’s exactly what is happening right now in super accounts all across Australia.

Why your super (and a lack of it) matters

Union members have always insisted that working people are more than the work we do – we have the right to decent and fulfilling lives outside of work. This includes the right to a supported and dignified retirement.

This is what superannuation is all about, and it’s union members who have been on the forefront of campaigning for the establishment – and protection – of the superannuation system.

Unpaid super is a massive issue, with over 2.8 million workers missing out on $5.1 billion in super entitlements annually, according to recent data from the Superannuation Members Council.

Over the past nine years, this has totalled $41.6 billion, leaving many Australians with significantly less in retirement savings.

By failing to make superannuation payments, employers are robbing workers of the compounding benefits that grow super balances over time. For workers, this means a less secure financial future.

The right to superannuation

Thanks to the union-won Protecting Worker Entitlements laws, the National Employment Standards (NES) now includes a right to superannuation contributions!

This means that workers now have a stronger enforceable workplace right to superannuation and stronger grounds on which to stand up to super-theft; with most employees that are covered by the NES now able to take court action to recover unpaid or underpaid superannuation.

The entitlement to superannuation in the NES aligns with and refers to superannuation legislation (won by union members over 30 years ago, which already stipulates that employers must make super contributions to employees’ super funds).

Winning super on Paid Parental Leave

Union-led campaigns to improve the superannuation system are never over! Just recently, union members won new laws for super to be paid on Paid Parental Leave. 

This change is anticipated to increase a mother’s retirement savings by approximately $14,500 – benefiting around 180,000 Australian families annually.

This law comes off the back of more than a decade of union campaigning to win equal retirement outcomes for women and it’s an outstanding result for so many union women who campaigned for this reform.

This kind of reform is so important because we know women retire with, on average, around 25% less super than men. We are now one step closer to retirement equality and rectifying a glaring gap in our retirement income system.

Undermining women’s financial security, again

It hasn’t taken long for the Coalition to come up with a counter-proposal that would undermine super: this time, the plan is to encourage working parents to opt for a lump sum or additional leave instead of super.

In other words: asking parents to choose between supporting their baby now and a secure retirement in the future.

Under the Coalition’s proposal, workers – primarily women – would face reduced retirement savings, which would worsen the existing gender superannuation gap. 

It’s more proof that the Coalition don’t care at all about women’s financial security. 

Protecting a union legacy

Superannuation is a union legacy, and one union members are proud to protect.

In nearly every case of superannuation and wage theft discovery and recovery, unions are behind it. You don’t have to fight this battle on your own.