An ASFA report shows that just 45 per cent of women business owners paid themselves superannuation, while a corresponding Australian Bureau of Statistics report reveals that self-employed women have an average weekly cash income of $522, compared to the $831 for men.
HLB Mann Judd wealth management manager Lindzi Caputo said the disproportionate gap was worrying and may exist because women did not value themselves enough.
“It is encouraging to see a growing number of women setting up on their own. However, it is concerning that female entrepreneurs tend to pay themselves less than their male counterparts and to contribute less to their superannuation,” Ms Caputo said.
“Business owners who don’t contribute to their super simply aren’t growing their superannuation savings … (and) because fees and insurance premiums continue to be paid out of super, the balance is eroded further.
“Female business owners often tell us that they are not expecting to make a profit or take a salary for the first few years, but at the same time they don’t have a plan of how to get to the stage where they will.”
Ms Caputo suggested that business owners pay themselves a salary, value their goods and services for what they are worth, and keep business and personal finances separate to manage cash flow better.
