International Women’s Day shines spotlight on super, women and wealth

By Sally Loane

It was great to be out and about on International Women’s Day to talk about an issue close to my heart – how to help close the gender wealth gap in superannuation.  

As we all know, women retire with around half the superannuation savings of men owing partly to the gender pay gap and partly to the work breaks many women take to be primary care givers to children and elderly parents.

Speaking at several events on IWD, including a Committee for Sydney breakfast, the Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards (where I was delighted to present the award for Best Technology to BT Panorama) and a private financial services session, I reiterated my firm belief that the key to female equality and empowerment was financial independence – which means all women need to pay attention to super from their very first paid job.

The FSC already pays the superannuation guarantee for up to 12 months for staff who take parental leave, and we are progressing policies that will help close the super gender gap in 2018. With the Federal Minister for Financial Services, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP, recently taking over responsibility as the Minister for Women as well, the FSC is better placed than ever before to take the lead in developing strong public policy in this critical area.

If you’re interested in reading further, here’s my blog on LinkedIn – A Message to the Hashtag Generation – where I note that attaining lifelong financial independence will help all women #pressforprogress, #leanin and avoid #metoo.

New additions to the team

I am delighted to announce some new additions and promotions within the FSC team following the departure of FSC senior policy managers Carla Hoorweg and Blake Briggs last month.

Current policy managers Sara Dix and Mel Toomey have both been promoted to senior policy managers – Sara will manage the Superannuation and Investments policy portfolios while Mel heads up the Financial Advice policy area and takes responsibility for the anything relating to the Royal Commission.

Sara Dix will be assisted in the Superannuation and Investment portfolio by new policy manager Jane Macnamara, who joins the FSC from Suncorp where she was a senior adviser, government and public policy.

Also joining the policy team is Ronald De La Cuadra. Ronald has a law degree from Macquarie University with experience in industrial relations law. He will be responsible for Advice, Technology & Innovation.

We have also recently welcomed new marketing communications manager Leigh Sujanto. Leigh brings to the role a wealth of communications experience gained at organisations including Optus Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Saba Larijani has also joined us from the Association for Data-Driven Marketing and Advertising, replacing Lauren Collier as events manager.

I hope you will join me in welcoming our talented new bench.

Life insurers pay $9.5bn in claims

The latest APRA stats show the life insurance industry continues to fulfil its vital social role in providing a safety net to families hit by tragedy, paying out nearly $9.5 billion in claims over the last 12 months.

The FSC will hold its annual Life Insurance Conference on Wednesday 21 March and it looks set to be one you don’t want to miss as it looks likely to coincide with the release of the PJC’s final report on its Inquiry into the sector.

There will also be sessions focused on the second iteration of the FSC Life Insurance Code of Practice, mental health and future trends shaping the industry, among others.

Keynote speakers include the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP, Minister for Financial Services & Revenue; Jason Falinski MP, Member of Parliamentary Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; ASIC Deputy Chair Peter Kell; and APRA Executive Board Member Geoff Summerhayes.