Gender differences in retirement transition goals and barriers: a case study in the university sector

ABSTRACT

Australia’s retirement system is often heralded as world-class. Yet research investigating the superannuation system has reported highly gendered outcomes even in the university sector, which has generous superannuation provisions and established career management practices. This study investigates gender differences in retirement transition goals and barriers in the sector. Data from university employees who are 50 years or older show that gender differences exist. Women are more likely than men to be frustrated in their attempts to transition into retirement as desired and are more likely to desire a reduction in workdays per week. Men are more likely to prefer to continue working as currently or to reduce responsibility. Economic reasons are more likely to be the barrier for women, while organisational reasons are more likely to be the barrier for men.

KEYWORDS:

• Retirement transition
• retirement readiness
• superannuation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Suzanne Maloney

Suzanne Maloney is a Phd candidate with the School of Political Science & International Studies at The University of Queensland. Suzanne would like to acknowledge her supervisors Emerita Professor Gillian Whitehouse, The University of Queensland and Emeritus Professor David Peetz, Griffith University for their comments and suggestions on this research and for making available the data from the Work & Careers in Australian Universities (WCAU) Survey. This survey was funded from Australian Research Council-funded Linkage Grant: Gender and Employment Equity: Strategies for Advancement in Australian Universities, 2009-2012 LP0991191. Industry partners were Universities Australia, the National Tertiary Education Union and Unisuper.