The greatest gift you can give yourself as a woman is financial independence.

As society slowly moves towards gender pay equity it’s important to discuss how, as individual women, we can proactively close the gender retirement gap. Research from super fund Colonial First State found that women are more likely to report never having made plans for their financial future.

Taking time out of the workforce to have children can lead to many women having far lower super balances than their partners.Credit: Candice Epthorp

The average age women say they begin planning for retirement is 53, whereas men make an earlier start at age 48. In the same vein, one in three Australian women (compared to only one in five men) have never seen a financial adviser.

Helping women create solid financial futures is something I’m passionate about. Women go through more life changes than men and can face more complexity in their working and ageing lives, and this requires solid planning to stay on track financially.

On average, women are earning 21.1 per cent or $26,393 per year less than men due to the higher portion of women working part-time or in sectors that have lower wages. Just as their careers are starting, many women take time out of the full-time workforce to have a family.

A percentage of these may work part-time for a decade until the kids are at school – some may never return to full-time employment. What does this mean for their wealth creation potential? Then there’s perimenopause and menopause and the health issues that come in midlife that can also affect finances.

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