This comes at a time when the advice sector tries to position itself as a key solution to the ever-declining sense of retirement confidence among Australians.
One year after super was introduced on Commonwealth Paid Parental Leave and the super guarantee reached 12 per cent, HESTA said the landmark reforms are helping improve women’s retirement outcomes, with modelling showing workers beginning their careers under the new settings could retire with substantially higher balances.
The modelling found that women who start work with 12 per cent super guarantee in place for their entire working lives could potentially retire with $712,000 in super. This is a sharp increase to HESTA’s modelling last year for women who retired in 2025 ($301,000). This represents a 137 per cent increase in retirement savings.
HESTA chief executive, Debby Blakey, said the first anniversary of the reforms marked an important milestone for the fund’s more than one million members, around 80 per cent of whom are women working in sectors such as aged care and early childhood education.
“One year in and we’re starting to see the positive impact these important reforms are having – and will continue to have – on women’s retirement outcomes while making our super system fairer,” Blakey said.
“Women have for too long retired with far less super than men, simply because the system didn’t account for the reality of their lives. These two reforms are starting to change that.”
However, it’s currently hard to see HESTA’s positive modelling actually translating into higher levels of confidence among pre and current retirees. According to Brighter Super’s 2025-26 State of Retirement report, based on research from Investment Trends, only 47 per cent of retirees confident they will not outlast their savings.
When focusing in on women, CFS research revealed that just 34 per cent of women are feeling prepared for retirement, with a further 62 per cent feeling they will be unable to achieve a comfortable retirement.
Notably, only 45 per cent of women said they were aware of the assets their superannuation is invested in. So, while these reforms are looking likely to have an overwhelmingly positive impact, awareness of these impacts will remain low, and a lack of awareness around one’s retirement is likely to spell an additional lack of confidence.
Interestingly (albeit unsurprisingly), the same CFS research revealed that 81 per cent of advised women said they self they were on track to reach their retirement goals, while only 49 per cent could say the same.
It’s because of this that CFS superannuation chief executive Kelly Power emphasised the importance of personalised financial advice in empowering women in retirement.
“It’s crucial that any efforts to help women build their financial confidence consider their unique life decisions. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, just as there isn’t a single path that all women follow in life,” Power said.
“That’s why financial advice is so valuable. There are now more affordable advice options available; women can sit down with a professional adviser or use a digital advice tool to plan their retirement and ultimately receive the advice that empowers them.”
She added that this lack of awareness of what super can do for women is stopping them from accessing benefits later in their lives.
“Many women may not realise that later in life, when they are in a better financial position, the superannuation system allows them to make catch-up contributions,” she said.
“These contributions mean you can make additional payments into your super fund beyond the standard annual cap to compensate for any shortfalls in previous years.
“This is particularly beneficial for women who may have taken career breaks or worked part-time due to caregiving responsibilities, resulting in lower superannuation balances. By utilising catch-up contributions, they can boost their retirement savings and work towards achieving a more comfortable and financially secure retirement.”
HESTA’s Debby Blakey also suggested more reform is still needed to help close the retirement gap between men and women and secure better retirement outcomes for all Australians.
“Super on paid parental leave, LISTO changes and the 12 per cent super guarantee should be seen as the foundation for further progress, not the end. There are still policy settings that disadvantage women and those on lower wages, and HESTA will keep advocating to ensure the system works for everyone,” she said.
