Sydney.

A number of previous studies have shown that on average, Australian women have much lower superannuation savings than Australian men. This study looks at data from individuals in order to identify some social and demographic characteristics which are correlated with superannuation savings. Using data from Wave 2 of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, we use a multiple regression model to assess how superannuation savings vary with gender, marital status, number of children, and education (and interactions of these factors). The results show that for women there is a clear inverse relationship between the value of superannuation and the number of children they have. Moreover the inverse relationship between a woman’s value of superannuation and her number of children persists after controlling for an extensive range of variables which may affect both her number of children and her superannuation. The analysis also shows that level of education, migrant status, being an employer or self employed, marital status, age and sex are significantly related to an individuals ’ level of superannuation. Suggestions for further research and the implications of the results for Australia’s public debate are discussed