There’s still a gender gap in retirement
The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey shows women retire slightly younger than men, with more caring responsibilities for grandchildren, and with much less superannuation
Published 19 September 2025
There’s still a gender gap in retirement
Women are, on average, retiring later than ever.
The median age of retirement for women was 62 in 2015, 63 in 2019, and 64 in 2023.
But the women are still retiring earlier than men, on average.
If we look at the 60-64 age group, in 2003, 69.5 per cent of women and 48.5 per cent of men in this age group were retired. By 2023, these figures had dropped to 40.8 per cent and 27.4 per cent, respectively.
First Nations women retire at significantly younger ages – about six years earlier than non-First Nations Australian-born women, likely due to persistent inequities.
Women retire around one year earlier than men, but with significantly less superannuation at retirement.
The median superannuation balance for women rose from $AU90,733 in 2015 to $AU190,850 in 2023, while men’s increased from $AU216,296 to $AU310,326.
In 2015, the median balance for women was less than half (41.9 per cent) of the balance for men and in 2023 it rose to 61.5 per cent, but there’s still a long way to go.
As a result of lower superannuation balances than men, it’s likely single women may need to remain in the workforce longer to achieve financial security for retirement.
Persistent poverty remains an issue for older women.
If we look at women aged 65 and over, 20.8 per cent experienced poverty for seven years or more in the decade 2014-2023, down from 28.6 per cent in 2001-2010.
For men, 13.3. per cent experienced poverty for seven years or more in the decade 2014-2023, down from 23.0 per cent 2001-2010.
For women in retirement, the work doesn’t necessarily stop. But it’s usually unpaid.
Women are much more likely to provide childcare for their grandchildren than men.
Overall, 59.2 percent of grandmothers with grandchildren under 15 years of age provided childcare, compared with 43.4 percent of grandfathers.
So what can we learn about women in retirement?
We first asked people about their superannuation balances at retirement in the 2015 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey.
Since then, superannuation balances for both men and women have grown considerably in real (inflation-adjusted) terms.
But, even in 2023, the typical Australian man still entered retirement with more than 1.5 times the super balance of the typical woman.
This gender gap reflects a range of factors: as well as smaller superannuation balances, women tend to have lower lifetime earnings and more time out of the workforce due to unpaid care.
While some couples may treat their superannuation as a shared household resource, the gender gap in balances remains a significant structural issue for women.
In general, career interruptions for caregiving – more common among women – can reduce superannuation accumulation over time. If these occur early in working life, they may continue to affect earnings and super balances decades later.
And caregiving becomes a factor again – more so for women than men – as people reach retirement age.
Grandparents provide free and flexible childcare
Grandparents are the second most important source of childcare after paid care.
Both paid care and grandparent care have increased since 2004.
For families with children under five, the proportion using paid childcare has gone from 44 to 56 per cent, and the proportion using grandparents for care has risen from 22 to 29 per cent – and this has to do with maternal employment.
In most families, mothers are the primary caregivers.
But they are also increasingly employed and are working longer hours than 20 years ago.
And that means many families depend on both types of care – paid care and grandparental care – more often.
Families have always supported each other. They are the people you trust with your own children. And it is much cheaper and more flexible than paid care.
In 2023, the median family using paid care for children under five spent around $AU171 on this care per week, an increase of almost 140 per cent in real terms since 2002.
Also, parents can call grandparents when they can’t send their kids to childcare or need somebody to step in to provide that emergency care at short notice.
Business & Economics
Retirees have never been wealthier, except for those that aren’t
On top of this, childcare is usually only open during the day, so if you need someone to look after your kids at night or on weekends when you work, then you may need to rely on grandparents.
Generally speaking, grandparents are most needed when their grandkids are young and not yet in school.
In 2023, grandparents provided 11.8 hours of childcare per week to grandchildren not yet at school.
But this stage of life is when grandparents have the least amount of time because they are mostly younger and still employed.
So, there is a conflict.
Grandparents who are working full-time are less likely to provide care than grandparents who are working part-time or who are not employed, all else being equal.
And grandmothers provide more care (and more frequent care) than grandfathers, although grandfathers are quite involved in childcare as well.
In 2023, 44.1 per cent of grandfathers and 49.9 per cent of grandmothers provided care at least once per week.
Within this group, 5.2 per cent of grandfathers and 7.4 per cent of grandmothers took care of grandchildren every day.
After their mid-60s, the proportion of grandparents providing care declines steeply. The grandchildren are usually older so there is not as much need for care, and as the grandparents get older, they may not feel up to the task anymore.
TThe 20th Annual Statistical Report of the HILDA Survey lead author is Dr Inga Laß, with co-authors Dr Kyle Peyton, Professor Roger Wilkins and Dr Ferdi Botha.
The HILDA survey is managed by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne, and is funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Social Services.