Women are being hit hard by the scourge of unpaid super, costing the typical working woman more than $26,000 less in savings by retirement, a new report has found.

One in four working women in Australia are underpaid super each year, with a typical working woman missing out on an average of $1,300, according to new analysis by the Super Members Council.

Half of women affected by unpaid super are community and personal service workers, professionals, and clerical and administrative workers – which includes childcare workers, aged care workers and nurses.

Collectively, Australian women were underpaid a $1.9 billion in super contributions in a single year. Over the past decade, that adds up to $15.5 billion in unpaid super owed to women.

Young, low-income women are the worst hit by unpaid super. About half of women in their 20s and 30s earning less than $25,000 were not paid some or all of the super they earned.

“The numbers are stark. Working women in Australia are already retiring with a quarter less super than men and unpaid super is making it harder to close that gap,” said Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert. 

The Australian Government has pledged to start payday super laws from 1 July 2026. SMC is calling on the government to urgently legislate payday super by introducing the laws in the next sitting fortnight to enable a smooth transition by the ATO, businesses and super funds.