New research has found 45 per cent of menopausal women report lower superannuation balances, either from reduced contributions or having to withdraw the money to cover medical expenses.
The average estimated reduction from the super balance is $40,000, and this has led 76 per cent of affected women to believe they will need to delay retirement.
The study is from life insurance company MetLife, with the results set to be unveiled at a Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) conference this week. The ASFA has said paid menopause leave– similar to paid parental leave– should be considered to better support women’s finances.
Chief executive of ASFA, Mary Delahunty has called the research on the financial and workplace impacts of menopause “the first of its kind in Australia”.
Around 160,000 Australian women enter menopause each year, but Delahunty said the absence of local data has led to employers and government failing to understand the financial impacts.
“One of the magnification effects of the interaction between menopause symptoms and superannuation is that when women experience menopause, they’re also at a high earning capacity,” Delahunty said.
Ahead of the study’s release, the Australian Financial Review has reported the findings show that 32 per cent of menopausal women make career sacrifices, such as stepping down from leadership positions, delaying career progression, changing career paths, reducing working hours or switching to part-time work.
The sacrifices have led to 14 per cent of the 1000 respondents to exit the workforce.
The study estimates women are losing up to $1.5 billion in earnings due to time off or out of work due to menopause. Thirty per cent of women are using their sick and annual leave to manage menopausal symptoms.
ASFA has said it plans to use these findings to make superannuation policy recommendations for the government. And MetLife has launched a pilot healthcare support program for its staff, based on its report.
A recent Senate inquiry into menopause in Australian workplaces recommended that women should have the right to work flexibly during menopause as well as have easier access to hormonal medications.
“Those kinds of interventions are what we need to be thinking about for future generations. For women right now, there is really little that can be done, except for adjustments in the social security settings to help them have a dignified retirement at the end of their working life,” Delahunty said about the inquiry recommendations.
She said solving the broader issues for menopausal women requires an approach that incorporates workplace productivity, health and financial outcomes, as well as attention from everyone across parliament.