The Border region’s workforce has missed out on more than $60 million in retirement contributions in just one year, and unless politicians fix the mess by mandating that super is paid on payday, a quarter of local workers will continue to miss out.
Industry Super Australia (ISA) analysis of the latest tax data shows 32,300 workers across border communities lost an average of $1,883 in 2019-20. Over three years, workers have been deprived of $91.5 million in retirement savings. Women have suffered big losses, with 14,050 women in border communities underpaid an average of $1,311 in super. Local women’s combined retirement savings losses were $18.4 million in just one year.
A key factor driving the Border region’s unpaid super scourge is a 90s law that allows super to be paid quarterly, leading to misalignment between the super published on a payslip and the amount deposited into someone’s account.
Modernising the law so that super is paid on payday will make it easier for workers to keep track of payments, drastically reducing the prevalence of unpaid super.
