Menopause impost: One in seven Australian women face lower super due to symptoms, report finds

One in seven women pays a menopause price from lower super savings due to temporarily or prematurely leaving the workforce, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia says.

One in seven Australian women pay a price for menopause through lower superannuation savings due to temporarily or prematurely leaving the workforce because of various symptoms, according to a new report by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia.

Once shrouded in taboo, menopause is breaking into the public discourse as a Senate inquiry investigates the socio-economic impacts of this life stage experienced by women in their 40s to 60s, marked by the end of their reproductive cycle and associated hormonal shifts.

About 160,000 women enter menopause each year. According to government figures eight out of ten experience symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats and sleep problems, and about 20 per cent will have symptoms severe enough to interfere with their daily life.

That can result in women taking time off work, shifting from full-time to part-time work, taking extended leave from work or even retiring earlier, all of which would lead to lower super balances. Menopause and perimenopause, which precedes it, can also have indirect effects, including delays or limits on career progression, reduced productivity and lower confidence at work.

The symptoms and impacts vary widely, and ASFA said relevant research on the was so limited that it could not estimate the economic impacts on women’s super savings.

The lobby group is calling for a comprehensive study of Australian women and the impacts of menopause transition on their work and career. “For a long time and like with most women’s health issues, we didn’t feel that there was space for us to talk about it openly. It was something that we had to just get on with,” says ASFA chief executive Mary Delahunty.

“If we wanted to participate in a world that was designed for men we had to pretend it wasn’t happening. And I think that this generation and the one following us are not playing by those rules.

“We are insisting that it is happening but that we should be valued nonetheless. And that the system needs to change to meet our needs, not the other way around.”

ASFA and others including Monash University, and large superannuation funds such as Aware Super are calling for comprehensive research to determine menopause’s impact on women’s careers and retirement plans. “We don’t really know, in Australia, how many people take time out of the workforce,” Ms Delahunty says.

A 2022 study by the Fawcett Society found menopausal symptoms will lead to around 15 per cent of women switching from full-time to part-time work, around 7 per cent leaving the workforce temporarily, and around 3 per cent retiring early.

In its submission to the Senate inquiry ASFA used those statistics, adjusted for difference in labour participation, to estimate that an average-earning 51-year-old Australian woman shifting from full-time to part-time work for four years stands to lose an estimated $25,000 in retirement savings. Those who take a two-year break can expect a $30,000 shortfall, while those who retire prematurely due to severe menopause symptoms could see their retirement savings plummet by $60,000.

In an attempt to address the issue, Australian superannuation funds such as Cbus, Aware Super, Future Super and Police Bank have implemented dedicated paid menopause leave policies to support their female employees.

But the superannuation lobby group stopped short of calling for the introduction of mandatory paid leave for women who are managing symptoms of menopause and perimenopause, instead calling for more research on the topic and flexibility on the workplace.