4 personal finance tips for women navigating retirement

Published July 2025 | 5 min read
Expert contributor: Sarah Megginson, personal finance expert at Finder.com.au
Words by Sabrina Rogers-Anderson

Women often retire with significantly less savings than men. But by acting now, you can boost your financial confidence and build a more secure retirement.

Australian women face a number of challenges when retiring. They typically retire earlier than men and also live, on average, four years longer. As a result, they spend more years dipping into their super and savings.

Plus, recent data shows the average woman needs to add an extra $236 each month to her super fund or work an extra 11 years to have the same super balance as the average man.

This leaves many women at risk of serious financial insecurity during their retirement years, often creating barriers to accessing affordable housing, healthcare and social support. 

“It’s a problem that begins in childhood, with research showing the gender pay gap starts with pocket money,” says Sarah Megginson, personal finance expert at Finder.com.au and co-author of the State of Women’s Wealth Report 2025. “The average boy under 12 gets paid $10.30 compared to the average girl who gets paid $7.50, and that sets the scene for the rest of our lives.”

The report states that this pocket money gap has been confirmed in many academic studies, which have found that girls are paid less pocket money than boys, and are expected to do more ‘inside’ work for free, like doing the dishes or tidying up, while boys get paid for outside work like doing the lawns.

While times are slowly changing, Australian women still earn less than men throughout their lives. For every $1 a man makes, a woman earns 78 cents on average.

“And then women take time out of the workforce to care for their children or their elderly parents,” says Sarah. “Not only does that have an immediate impact on their income, but there’s also the long-term impact of the superannuation they don’t earn during that time.”

The Australian Taxation Office will start paying super on government-funded Parental Leave Pay in the 2026–27 financial year if you care for a child born or adopted from 1 July 2025 onwards. While Sarah acknowledges this is a slight step forward, she notes women still face significant financial disadvantages.

Women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds face an even greater number of obstacles when it comes to achieving financial security at retirement, including a lack of recognition of qualifications obtained overseas, discrimination, language barriers and cultural assumptions. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are among the most severely disadvantaged groups.

Adding to these challenges, a recent study by MetLife Australia found menopause caused a significant impact on women’s wellbeing and productivity, resulting in negative effects on women's careers and financial security in retirement.

Throughout their lives, women have all of these factors impacting their ability to earn an income and save for retirement, says Sarah. “Our research shows the average wealth of a woman is around $428,000 whereas the average wealth of a man is around $597,000, which is a 40% difference.”

This savings gap is a major reason why homelessness among older women grew by almost 40% in Australia between 2011 and 2021.

Financial insecurity among older women can also make it hard to get good healthcare, healthy food and important social support. This creates a cycle that leads to worse health and social outcomes. Money worries can also hurt relationships and lead to mental health issues like stress.

While this may paint a gloomy picture of women’s golden years, it’s never too late for women to take control of their finances and set themselves up for a comfortable and secure retirement.

Here are some expert tips to help you get on track.

How much super should you have by retirement?

According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), a single person should have a super balance of $100,000 to retire at age 67 and live a modest lifestyle, if not renting privately. For a comfortable retirement, $595,000 is required.

Couples need $100,000 (if they are not renting privately) for a modest retirement and $690,000 for a comfortable one.

The reason the amount for singles and couples is the same for a modest retirement is because it takes the Age Pension into account. Visit the Services Australia website to find out how much Age Pension you can get.

4 ways to get retirement-ready

Here are four areas you should consider assessing to make sure you’re set up for your second chapter of life.

1. Do a retirement readiness audit

Sarah suggests using this free super calculator to evaluate your projected retirement balance and see how you could improve it.

“I recently helped a friend whose marriage broke down at the age of 50 figure out how to save enough money for her retirement,” she says. “We played around with the figures and realised that if she worked an extra five years and retired at 70, she’d have $700,000. That was a number that gave her a lot of comfort and took away the anxiety she had about the future.”

While it’s never too late to make adjustments to boost your super, the earlier you start planning for retirement, the better. Whenever you change jobs or your work hours, you should recalculate how it will affect your retirement savings.

Women who have partners can also take advantage of contributions splitting, which involves one spouse transferring part of their super contributions to the other.

2. Improve your financial literacy

Sarah suggests getting professional help and educating yourself on financial matters.

“If you can afford it, seeing a financial advisor is a great investment,” she says. “Search online for financial advisors who specialise in helping women or ask friends and family for a recommendation. Your initial financial plan will cost around $5,000 and there are ongoing costs, so it’s not achievable for everyone.”

Sarah also recommends calling your super fund to see if you can get some free financial advice. “Or you can play around with free online calculators and do some research on reputable financial websites to improve your financial literacy and make informed decisions.”

Helpful resources include:

• Moneysmart
• National Debt Helpline
• Services Australia
• Salvation Army Moneycare

3. Save on healthcare costs where you can

Staying on top of your health checks can help to minimise the need for costly medical treatment down the track. It's also helpful to review your cover regularly to make sure it meets your life stage, lifestyle and budget needs and you aren’t paying for what you don’t need.

In addition, having private health insurance can provide peace of mind by giving you access to timely medical treatment where and when you need it. Find out how to reduce your out-of-pocket hospital costs and get more back with HCF extras cover.

Eligible HCF members can also access free programs and services, including our Joint Health programs, which can help keep you out of hospital for longer. However, if you do need to go to hospital, our Find a Provider and Cost Indicator tools can help you keep track of any out-of-pocket costs.

4. Explore your housing options

In an ideal world, you’ll have paid off your mortgage by retirement and you won’t have to worry about housing costs. But the 2025 Rethinking Retirement report found 28% of pre-retirees (those aged between 50 and 64 years old) have a mortgage and 14% of retirees are still paying off their mortgage debt.

While downsizing might seem like the most logical move, Sarah says it should be a last option.

“Downsizing is very expensive,” she explains. “To sell your home, you have to pay advertising costs and real estate commissions, and then you have to pay stamp duty and all the associated buying costs for your next home.”

Given these costs can eat through a sizeable share of the sale price, Sarah encourages older Australians to think outside the box. “You could Airbnb one of your rooms to make some extra money and you might find that you enjoy connecting with new people,” she says. “Or you could rent a room to one of your family members.”

Whether you own your home or rent, shared housing can help offset the costs and provide companionship. Websites like Better Together Housing and Life Shared can help you find your ideal housemate.

Prepare for future costs

Having cover to help with the unexpected costs of recovery or in the event you pass away can help your loved ones during a difficult time. HCF Life and Recover Cover^* is our innovative range of life, income protection, critical illness and accident products that help with the unexpected costs that come with sickness, injury or death. The range includes fast, easy and flexible cover that provides cash payments^{^} after sickness and injury or to support your family when you pass away.