These coffees show why men have more cash in superannuation than women

The impact of having children, an increased burden of caring duties, and subsequent reduction in working hours is clear when looking at overall superannuation statistics.

The latest data shows that, as of 2019, men aged 60 to 64 had a median super balance of $178,800, while women in the same age group had a median balance of $137,050, a gap of 23.4%.

Surveys of people who withdrew super under the early access scheme make it clear that many people felt they had no choice but to withdraw their super, despite the disadvantage it causes when they retire.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies surveyed people who withdrew super funds. The results show many used the funds at least partly to alleviate financial stress, such as paying their rent or mortgage, or to pay for goods and services they might not have otherwise been able to afford. However, a small proportion did report spending money on entertainment.

Of course, not everyone can afford to make voluntary super contributions.

But for those who can, Marisa Broome, a financial planner, says the extra contributions really pay off later.

The models used to create the superannuation scenarios are meant to be realistic, but have been simplified for illustrative purposes. This means that while they use a number of assumptions based on real-world data on inflation, super guarantee rates and wage growth, they are still a simplification of the complex, real-world financial situation that people find themselves in.

All of the models use the following assumptions:

Inflation- 2.5%

Super investment fee - 0.85%

Super growth rate- 7.5%