Anthony Albanese urged to pay superannuation on paid parental leave and carer’s payments

Anthony Albanese is facing a renewed push to give superannuation to recipients of paid parental leave and carer’s leave.

Adding superannuation to paid-parental and carer’s leave payments could bolster a woman’s retirement savings by more than $120,000, a new report says.

Adding superannuation to paid-parental and carer’s leave payments could bolster a woman’s retirement savings by more than $120,000, a new report says, as ­Anthony Albanese faces pressure to reconsider the policy given the improvement in the budget bottom line.

Labor women’s group Emily List is pushing the Prime Minister to add superannuation to the paid-parental leave scheme, as recommended by the government’s hand-picked Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce ahead of the May budget.

Jim Chalmers knocked back the taskforce’s recommendation because of budgetary pressures, but the surplus has since been dramatically upgraded and is expected to hit about $20bn for the year to June 2023.

While the government is under pressure to move on the issue, Emily’s List chief executive Pamela Anderson said unions should also push private companies to continue to pay super for staff when they went on the government’s paid-parental or carer’s leave schemes.

Ms Anderson said this needed to be on the table during enterprise bargaining agreement negoti­ations. “This is very high on our agenda … and I do believe there’s a strong appetite,” she said.

“My expectation is we will see the public sector go first on this and obviously that will become more attractive employment and then private will follow.”

Ms Anderson’s prediction follows the Australian Public Service Commission in June releasing its first review of the Maternity Leave Act in 40 years and recommending super be paid on PPL.

In a report released on Monday, KPMG renewed its calls for super to be paid on PPL but also urged Labor to fund super for the carer’s payment, of which women make up 70 per cent of recipients.

“A person who began caring at 35 years of age and continued to provide care … for 15 consecutive years thereafter, the addition of superannuation contributions to the Carer Payment could be expected to boost the carer’s superannuation balance at retirement age by $123,000,” the report found.

“Women called to engage in unpaid caring work are asked to pay a price not only in terms of lost earnings and missed career opportunities during their time as carers but also in the form of a less comfortable retirement in the future.”

People who receive the carer’s payment – which provides a maximum $971.50 a fortnight to 300,000 recipients – typically provide constant care to someone who is frail, has a disability or suffers a severe illness.

By adding the super guarantee rate of 11 per cent, the super contribution for a carer on the maximum fortnightly payment would be more than $100 a fortnight.

“Based on the 2023-24 budget papers, the initial annual cost of adding (superannuation) contributions to the carer payment at a rate of 12 per cent would be around $944m with the cost projected to reach $1.1bn in the 2026-27 financial year,” the KPMG found.

Labor was criticised after May’s budget for failing to fund super­annuation contributions for PPL.

The difference between a woman and a man’s super balance is most pronounced between the ages of 45 and 59, at which time the average man’s median account balance is more than 30 per cent higher than an average woman’s.

“There’s a gender gap when it comes to super … and ensuring the superannuation guarantee is included on paid parental leave and the carer’s payment is a way of closing that gap,” KPMG head of superannuation Linda Elkins said.

KPMG said by paying super on a carer’s payment, the government would incentivise an increase in the number of informal carers, taking the pressure off the hospital, disability and aged care sectors.