By Susan Edmunds of RNZ
Helen, whom RNZ has agreed not to identify, is facing retirement with just $1000 in savings.
She and her former partner have separated and he is living in their family home. She has to rely on the New Zealand Superannuation to get by.
"Much of my life was spent caring for others without pay," she said.
Over the years, she looked after their autistic daughter and her elderly parents, as well as her in-laws. Her partner worked full-time, in what she describes as a "very traditional" household economic arrangement.
"All of this support and care was without any financial compensation. I think that women in my situation should be compensated for loss of income through caring for babies, children, and elderly parents. Women who have disabled children need an additional top-up because normal childcare arrangements did not work for them."
She said she was told to return to work full-time or not at all, and knew that full-time work was impossible. There were none of the childcare subsidies available then that modern parents can access.
"The social planners need to review their idea that every citizen had equal opportunity to work and save for retirement. Social planners need to a much greater understanding of the lives of women in the 20th century and need to be aware that in the past women contributed labour for free for much of their lives. They, in return, expected the government to support them adequately once they retired."
Retirement planning expert Liz Koh, of Enrich Retirement, said there were many people in Helen's situation.
"There is a phenomenon called 'silver splitters' which refers to the increasing numbers of people splitting late in life. The key challenge for these people is to secure affordable housing that enables them to then live on NZ Superannuation with potentially a top-up to that for accommodation costs. Without affordable housing the outlook is dire and they will need to keep working as long as possible."
Data shows that the gap between women and men's KiwiSaver balances is highest between age 50 and 65. For people aged 56 to 60, the average KiwiSaver balance is $48,489 for women and $66,312 for men. Between 61 and 65, women have an average $51,971 and men $70,045.
Jo Gamble, research lead at Te Ara Ahunga Ora the Retirement Commission, said the "motherhood penalty" set women back both in terms of earning and in saving for retirement.
"It's not only the gender pay gap but taking time out of work. [Helen] was having to do the lion's share of childcare and if she was returning to work it was not going to be on the same salary… in the meantime her partner is busy earning more money, climbing the ladder."
Motu found a 5.7 percent gap between men and women's wages when neither had children. When children were involved, the gap doubled. When women had taken a year out of the workforce, their pay was about 8 percent lower than women without children.
"The longer you're out of the workforce, the bigger the motherhood penalty is."
She said KiwiSaver balances were not likely to be as significant for the generation retiring now as they would be for future retirees, but people needed to remember that retirement savings were relationship property.
"Only about one in four people actually consider KiwiSaver when they are dividing assets… for women going forward it's important to remember that anything that is accrued into a KiwiSaver account belongs to both people in a relationship. Even if people haven't been able to contribute to their own KiwiSaver, they are entitled to a portion of their partner's."
She said when people were in their 60s they had less time to recover from a financial blow such as separation.
The commission's research showed two-thirds of people who separated after 50 had their retirement plans negatively affected.
While everyone was worse-off after separation, women were particularly affected.
More than three-quarters of women said they were comfortable pre separation but only 31 percent after, compared to a drop from 81 percent to 44 percent for men.
Helen said more needed to be done for women in her position.
"There needs to be a review of the inequity and sex-bias in the configuration of the current model of financial support for retirement. I think that a 'top up' should be paid to people with a low savings balance."
