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Two men charged over felling of iconic Sycamore Gap tree

<p>Two men have been charged with cutting down the iconic Sycamore Gap tree in northern England. </p> <p>Daniel Graham, 38, and Adam Carruthers, 31, were charged with causing criminal damage to the tree and damaging Hadrian’s Wall, which was built by Emperor Hadrian in AD 122 to guard the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire.</p> <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) added that they will appear in the Newcastle Magistrates Court on May 15.</p> <p>“There has been an ongoing investigation since the Sycamore Gap tree was cut down," <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">said </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Fenney, the Senior Investigation Officer on the case. </span></p> <p>“As a result of those inquiries, two men have now been charged.</p> <p>“We recognise the strength of feeling in the local community and further afield the felling has caused, however we would remind people to avoid speculation, including online, which could impact the ongoing case.”</p> <p>According to <em>The Sun</em>, the two men were arrested back in October and released on bail. </p> <p>The iconic tree became internationally famous when it was used for a scene in Kevin Costner's 1991 blockbuster film <em>Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. </em></p> <p>The felling caused widespread <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/finance/legal/you-can-t-forgive-that-teen-arrested-after-felling-of-iconic-200-year-old-tree" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outrage</a> at the time, as police tried to find the culprit behind the "deliberate" act of vandalism. </p> <p>Efforts are currently underway to see if the tree can be regrown from the sycamore's stump, with The National Trust hoping that a third of the seeds and cuttings it collected from the tree could be planted later on. </p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p> <p> </p>

Travel Trouble

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It wasn’t just a tree: why it feels so bad to lose the iconic Sycamore Gap tree and others like it

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-banham-830381">Rebecca Banham</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-tasmania-888">University of Tasmania</a></em></p> <p>The famous <a href="https://oversixty.co.nz/finance/legal/you-can-t-forgive-that-teen-arrested-after-felling-of-iconic-200-year-old-tree" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sycamore Gap tree</a> was felled last week, prompting global expressions of sorrow, anger and horror. For some, the reaction was puzzling. Wasn’t it just a single tree in northern England? But for many, the tree felt profoundly important. Its loss felt like a form of grief.</p> <p>Trees tell us something important about ourselves and who we are in the world. That is, they contribute to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23251042.2020.1717098">ontological security</a> – our sense of trust that the world and our selves are stable and predictable.</p> <p>Trees – especially those celebrated like England’s sycamore or Tasmania’s 350-year-old El Grande mountain ash – feel like they are stable and unchanging in a world where change is constant. Their loss can destabilise us.</p> <h2>What makes a tree iconic?</h2> <p>Individual trees can become important to us for many reasons.</p> <p>When the wandering ascetic Siddhartha Gautama sat at the foot of a sacred fig around 500 BCE, he achieved the enlightenment which would, a few centuries later, lead to his fame as the Buddha. This sacred fig would become known as the Bodhi Tree. One of its descendants <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/Bo-tree">attracts millions</a> of pilgrims every year.</p> <p>Sometimes a tree becomes iconic because of its association with pop culture. U2’s hit 1987 album <em>The Joshua Tree</em> has inspired fans to seek out the tree on the cover in the United States’ arid southwest – <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/u2s-the-joshua-tree-10-things-you-didnt-know-106885/">a potentially dangerous trip</a>.</p> <p>Other trees become famous because they’re exceptional in some way. The location of the world’s tallest tree – a 115-metre high redwood known as Hyperion – is <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-worlds-tallest-tree-is-officially-off-limits-180980509/">kept secret for its protection</a>.</p> <p>Niger’s Tree of Ténéré was known as the world’s most isolated, eking out an existence in the Sahara before the lonely acacia was accidentally knocked down by a truck driver in 1973. Its site is <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/last-tree-tenere">marked by a sculpture</a>.</p> <p>In 2003, the mountain ash known as El Grande – then the world’s largest flowering plant – was accidentally killed in a burn conducted by Forestry Tasmania. The death of the enormous tree – 87 metres tall, with a 19 metre girth – drew <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/3945157">“national and international”</a> media attention.</p> <p>This year, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-14/vandalism-sacred-birthing-tree-buangor-police-investigate/102726014">vandals damaged</a> a birthing tree sacred to the local Djab Wurrung people amidst conflicts about proposed road works in western Victoria.</p> <p>And in 2006, someone poisoned Queensland’s Tree of Knowledge – a 200-year-old ghost gum <a href="https://www.australiantraveller.com/qld/outback-qld/longreach/tree-of-knowledge-is-dead/">famous for its connection</a> to the birth of trade unionism in Australia. Under its limbs, shearers organised and marched for better conditions. The dead tree has been preserved in a memorial.</p> <h2>What is it to lose a tree?</h2> <p>Sociologist Anthony Giddens defines ontological security as a <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Modernity_and_Self_Identity.html?id=Jujn_YrD6DsC&amp;redir_esc=y">“sense of continuity and order in events”</a>.</p> <p>To sustain it, we seek out feelings of safety, trust, and reassurance by engaging with comfortable and familiar objects, beings and people around us – especially those important to our self-identity.</p> <p>When there is an abrupt change, it challenges us. If your favourite tree in your street or garden dies, you mourn it – and what it gave you. But we mourn at a distance too – the Sycamore Gap tree was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/gallery/2023/sep/28/hadrians-wall-sycamore-gap-tree-in-pictures">world-famous</a>, even if you never saw it in real life.</p> <p>In <a href="https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Seeing_the_forest_for_the_trees_ontological_security_and_experiences_of_Tasmanian_forests/23238422">my research</a>, I have explored how Tasmanian forests – including iconic landscapes and individual trees – can give us that sense of security we all seek in ourselves.</p> <p>As one interviewee, Leon, told me:</p> <blockquote> <p>These places should be left alone, because in 10,000 years they could still be there. Obviously I won’t be, we won’t be, but perhaps [the forest will be].</p> </blockquote> <p>Temporality matters here. That is, we know what to expect by looking to the past and imagining what the future could be. Trees – especially ancient ones – act as a living link between the past, present, and future.</p> <p>As my interviewee Catherine said:</p> <blockquote> <p>You lie under an old myrtle and you just go, ‘wow - so what have you seen in your lifetime?’ Shitloads more than me.</p> </blockquote> <p>That’s why the loss of the Sycamore Gap tree has upset seemingly the entire United Kingdom. The tree was famous for its appearance: a solitary tree in a <a href="https://www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk/places-to-visit/hadrians-wall/sycamore-gap/">photogenic dip</a> in the landscape.</p> <p>Its loss means a different future for those who knew it. It’s as if you were reading a book you know – but someone changed the ending.</p> <h2>Loss of connection</h2> <p>We respond very differently when humans do the damage compared to natural processes. In one study, UK homeowners found it <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13698570802381162">harder to accept</a> their house being burgled than for it to be flooded, seeing flooding as more natural and thus less of a blow to their sense of security.</p> <p>This is partly why the sycamore’s death hurt. It didn’t fall in a storm. It was cut down deliberately – something that wasn’t supposed to happen.</p> <p>The sycamore was just a tree. But it was also not just a tree – it was far more, for many of us. It’s more than okay to talk about what this does to us – about how the loss of this thread of connection makes us grieve.</p> <p>Yes, we have lost the Sycamore Gap tree, just as we lost El Grande and many others. It is useful to talk about this - and to remember the many other beautiful and important trees that live on. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214841/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-banham-830381"><em>Rebecca Banham</em></a><em>, Postdoctoral fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-tasmania-888">University of Tasmania</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/it-wasnt-just-a-tree-why-it-feels-so-bad-to-lose-the-iconic-sycamore-gap-tree-and-others-like-it-214841">original article</a>.</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Sapling planted at Sycamore Gap to "restore hope" removed by National Trust

<p>UK resident Kieran Chapman, 27, is "absolutely gutted" after the sapling he planted in memory of the<a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/finance/legal/you-can-t-forgive-that-teen-arrested-after-felling-of-iconic-200-year-old-tree" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> felled Sycamore Gap tree</a> was heartbreakingly removed by National Trust. </p> <p>The 27-year-old spent hours on Friday planting the sapling just metres away from the stump of the iconic Sycamore Gap tree, but his efforts were in vain, as the sapling had been dug up by the National Trust on Sunday morning. </p> <p>The conservation charity said that they had to remove the sapling because it is a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p> <p>A National Trust spokesperson told the <em>Newcastle Chronicle </em>that while they understand  “the strength of feeling following the events at Sycamore Gap” the site “is a scheduled ancient monument and a globally important archaeological setting, with UNESCO world heritage designation”.</p> <p>“Altering or adding to it can damage the archaeology, and is unlawful without prior consent from government.”</p> <p>But Chapman couldn't hide his disappointment: “It’s just devastating, isn’t it? It genuinely brought people a lot of joy and that’s been taken away," he told the publication. </p> <p>“I honestly thought if it got a good response they might end up keeping it.”</p> <p>Chapman planted the sapling because he wanted to “restore people’s faith in humanity, bring a smile back to people’s faces and just give them a bit of hope”.</p> <p>“I planned to go and take the dog for a walk next weekend there," he added. </p> <p>In a follow up post on Facebook, Chapman added that he was told by the National Trust that his tree will be replanted on another piece of land at the Housesteads Visitor Centre on Hadrian’s Wall. </p> <p>“Too many politics around all this for my liking, the top and bottom of it, it’s a tree, planted in soil. I understand the land is protected, but to protect a tree from being planted in the earth, where they’re designed to be, no matter where it’s location, is crazy,” he wrote.</p> <p>Two people were arrested over the incident,  a 16-year-old boy and 69-year-old former lumberjack. </p> <p>Both have been released on bail, with the lumberjack insisting that he had no involvement in the felling. </p> <p>“You’ve got the wrong feller,” he told<em> The Sun</em>.</p> <p>“I’m a former lumberjack and I’ve just been kicked off my property so I can see why people have pointed the finger.</p> <p>“My brother came down to make sure I hadn’t been arrested as he had heard a rumour that I had cut it down. I didn’t do it," he added. </p> <p><em>Images: Getty/ Facebook</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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"You can't forgive that": Teen arrested after felling of iconic 200-year-old tree

<p>A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in northern England after what police describe as the "deliberate" felling of the iconic Sycamore Gap tree. </p> <p>The tree had stood next to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hadrian's Wall for nearly 200 years before it was tragically vandalised. </p> <p>Both locals and tourists have frequently stopped to capture a photo and appreciate the stunning tree ever since it gained fame for its appearance in Kevin Costner's 1991 film, <em>Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves</em>. </p> <p>Now, photographs from the scene on early Thursday showed that the tree had been cut off near the base of its trunk, and the locals are fuming. </p> <p>"The tree is a world-renowned landmark and the vandalism has caused understandable shock and anger throughout the local community and beyond," Northumbria Police said in a statement.</p> <p>"This is an incredibly sad day," they added. </p> <p>"The tree was iconic to the North East and enjoyed by so many who live in or who have visited this region."</p> <p>Alison Hawkins, was the first person to spot the damage while she was walking on the Hadrian's Wall path. </p> <p>"It was a proper shock. It's basically the iconic picture that everyone wants to see," she said.</p> <p>"You can forgive nature doing it but you can't forgive that."</p> <p>The Northumberland National Park authority have asked the public not to visit the iconic tree, which was voted as English Tree of the Year in 2016. </p> <p>Police report that the teen has since been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage, and has been assisting officers with their inquiries.</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Legal

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Harry opens up about his intrusive Aussie gap year

<p dir="ltr">While opening up to London’s High Court as part of his phone hacking case against British tabloids, Prince Harry detailed his experiences in Australia in 2003 when the royal was in the country on his gap year. </p> <p dir="ltr">The Duke of Sussex referenced two articles that were published at the time, alleging that private investigators had been hired by his family to keep an eye on him. </p> <p dir="ltr">In his witness statement, he noted that a newspaper had run with the headline “Beach Bum Harry” for a story on his trip to a Noosa beach with some of his friends. </p> <p dir="ltr">“It was a public beach, but not busy or popular so I’m unclear how anyone had known we were there, to be in the right place at the right time to take photographs. I wasn’t aware of anyone taking photographs at the time,’’ he explained, before sharing that locating the group would have been of a similar challenge level to “trying to find a needle in a haystack”.</p> <p dir="ltr">But as the lawyer representing Mirror Group Newspapers pointed out, there was “no doubt that many photographers were prepared to look for that needle in a haystack”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Harry had more to reveal from there, sharing his belief that the late Queen had sent “senior” members of Buckingham Palace’s aide team to monitor him while he was in Australia, all because of the “intrusion” of the paparazzi into his life. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I only learnt recently that the Queen had asked one of her Assistant Private Secretaries to fly out to Noosa and take a house down the road from where I was staying,” he explained, “without me knowing.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The second article was also released in 2003, and was one that claimed the young royal was “ready to quit Oz”. As Harry explained, it reported that he was “considering leaving Australia … because of the level of press intrusion I was experiencing.” </p> <p dir="ltr">“The article includes a comment from a Palace spokesman expressing concern and disappointment about the treatment I was experiencing,” he said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I do recall that the Palace issued a statement, because the situation in Australia was awful for me and there was supposed to be an agreement that once I had done the press call on arrival, I would be left to get on with my gap year in private.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was a teenager, and this made it clear that there was nowhere in the world - not even the Australian outback - where I wouldn’t be hounded by the press or paparazzi.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty</em></p> <p> </p>

International Travel

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There’s a growing gap between countries advancing LGBTQ+ rights, and those going backwards

<p>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong joined 50,000 people to march in support of queer rights across the Sydney Harbour Bridge for World Pride in early March. A week earlier, Albanese became the first sitting prime minister to march in Sydney’s Mardi Gras, something he’s done over several decades.</p> <p>And yet at the same time, in another part of the world, Uganda’s parliament passed <a href="https://theconversation.com/ugandas-new-anti-lgbtq-law-could-lead-to-death-penalty-for-same-sex-offences-202376">a string of draconian measures</a> against homosexuality, including possible death sentences for “aggravated homosexuality”. Any “promotion” of homosexuality is also outlawed.</p> <p>Seven years ago, I co-wrote a book with Jonathan Symons called Queer Wars. Back then, we suggested there was <a href="https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/queer-wars-the-new-global-polarization-over-gay-rights">a growing gap</a>between countries in which sexual and gender diversity was becoming more acceptable, and those where repression was increasing. </p> <p>Sadly, that analysis seems even more relevant today.</p> <h2>A growing gap</h2> <p>Some countries have been unwinding criminal sanctions around homosexuality, which are often the legacy of colonialism. This includes, in recent years, former British colonies <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/22/singapore-decriminalize-gay-sex">Singapore</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/06/indian-supreme-court-decriminalises-homosexuality">India</a>.</p> <p>But others have been imposing new and more vicious penalties for any deviation from stereotypical assumptions of heterosexual masculine superiority (what Australian sociologist Raewyn Connell <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891243205278639">terms</a> “hegemonic masculinity”).</p> <p>Anti-gay legislation is currently pending in Ghana, which led US Vice President Kamala Harris to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-43822234">express concerns</a> on a recent visit.</p> <p>These moves echo the deep homophobia of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has <a href="https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/putins-anti-gay-war-on-ukraine/">bizarrely linked</a> intervention in Ukraine to protecting traditional values against LGBTQ+ infiltration.</p> <p>Meanwhile, reports from Afghanistan suggest that anyone identified as “LGBT” is <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/01/26/afghanistan-taliban-target-lgbt-afghans">in danger of being killed</a>.</p> <p>Indonesia recently passed legislation <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/06/indonesia-passes-legislation-banning-sex-outside-marriage">penalising all sex outside marriage</a>. This follows <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13639811.2022.2038871">years of anti-queer rhetoric</a> from Indonesian leaders and crackdowns in regional areas.</p> <p>And while the Biden administration is supportive of queer rights globally, the extraordinary hysteria <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/07/cpac-anti-trans-rhetoric">around trans issues in the Republican Party</a> reminds us the West has no inherent claim to moral superiority.</p> <h2>Where to next?</h2> <p>Speaking at the World Pride Human Rights Conference, both Wong and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus made it clear Australia would press for recognition of sexuality and gender identity as deserving protection, as part of <a href="https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/speech/sydney-worldpride-human-rights-conference-opening-statement">our commitment to human rights</a>.</p> <p>Wong also announced a <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/213443-wong-announces-international-fund-for-lgbt-rights/">new Inclusion and Equality Fund</a> to support queer community organisations within our region.</p> <p>Australian governments have usually been wary of loud assertions of support for queer rights. This is partly due to a reasonable fear this merely reinforces the perception that such language reflects <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/abs/locating-neocolonialism-tradition-and-human-rights-in-ugandas-gay-death-penalty/33A06F4F33CF586E20E208BE790E71E0">a sense of Western superiority</a>, unwilling to acknowledge other societies may have very different attitudes towards gender and sexuality.</p> <p>Australia is part of the Equal Rights Coalition, an intergovernmental body of 42 countries dedicated to the protection of the rights of LGBTQ+ people, and has supported sexual and gender rights in the <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/australias-second-universal-periodic-review-human-rights">country reviews</a> undertaken by the United Nations Human Rights Commission.</p> <p>Australia has a minimal presence in Uganda, and direct representations are unlikely to have much effect. Uganda is a member of the Commonwealth, as are Ghana, Kenya and Zambia, where official homophobia appears to be increasing. But there’s little evidence the Australian government sees this as a significant foreign policy forum, or is prepared to push for sexual rights through its institutions.</p> <p>As persecution on the basis of sexuality and gender identity increases, more people will seek to flee their countries. Queer refugees face double jeopardy: they’re not safe at home, but they’re often equally unsafe in their diasporic communities, which have inherited the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/lgbt-refugees-untold-story/">deep prejudices of their homelands</a>.</p> <p>The UN’s refugee agency <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/lgbtiq-persons.html">reports</a> that most people seeking asylum because of their sexuality are unwilling to disclose this, because of discrimination within their own ethnic communities. This makes it impossible to have accurate numbers. But a clear signal from Australia would be a powerful statement of support – that it understands the situation and welcomes people who need flee because of their sexuality or gender expression.</p> <p>An official Canadian government document <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/canada-role/2slgbtqi-plus.html">states</a>: "Canada has a proud history of providing protection to and helping to resettle the world’s most vulnerable groups. That includes those in the Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse community."</p> <p>Theirs is a model worth following.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-a-growing-gap-between-countries-advancing-lgbtq-rights-and-those-going-backwards-203329" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Caring

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“Love doesn’t know math”: Cher defends 40-year age gap

<p dir="ltr">Cher has defended the massive 40-year age gap between her and her new and much younger beau. </p> <p dir="ltr">The 76-year-old singer is currently in a relationship with 36-year-old music producer Alexander Edwards.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite the 40-year age gap, Cher is not shying away from the “blossoming romance” and answered fans’ questions about the relationship along with a cheeky photo of Alex in his boxers.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He’s 36 and in end he came after me. I’m the skittish one. We love each other …. LADIES NEVER GIVE UP. Must say he was different for me,” she wrote. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">A.E.Hanging Ot <a href="https://t.co/TB5XXJqlxk">pic.twitter.com/TB5XXJqlxk</a></p> <p>— Cher (@cher) <a href="https://twitter.com/cher/status/1595612020325240832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">On paper This Looks<br />strange (Even 2 ME)<br />A.E Says ♥️Doesn’t<br />Know Math</p> <p>— Cher (@cher) <a href="https://twitter.com/cher/status/1595690505576161281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">BABE,SOME MARCH 2 A DIFFERENT DRUMMER,I Dance 2 One</p> <p>— Cher (@cher) <a href="https://twitter.com/cher/status/1595695842584731648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“He’s kind, smart, hilarious … and we (kiss emoji) like teenagers,” she responded to a question asking about her favourite quality about Alex.</p> <p dir="ltr">“On paper this looks strange (even to ME) AE says love ️doesn’t know math,” Cher tweeted shortly after.</p> <p dir="ltr">The pair sparked rumours earlier this month when they were seen holding hands outside the West Hollywood restaurant Craig's where they met with rapper Tyga for dinner.</p> <p dir="ltr">During the night, Alex was seen kissing Cher’s hand as they drove off together. </p> <p dir="ltr">It was only days after the dinner that Cher confirmed the relationship on Twitter.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Relationships

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Gender pension gap: why women save less - and why that’s changing dramatically

<p>One issue <a href="https://www.scottishwidows.co.uk/knowledge-centre/gender-pension-gap/">that has</a> attracted <a href="https://prospect.org.uk/article/what-is-the-gender-pension-gap/#:%7E:text=The%20gender%20pension%20gap%20is,gap%20that%20year%20(17.3%25).">growing attention</a> in <a href="https://www.aviva.co.uk/aviva-edit/your-money-articles/women-know-gender-pension-gap/">recent years</a> is the “gender pension gap” – the fact that on average, women have lower private pension wealth and lower income in retirement than men. But before rushing to conclusions about how to “fix” this, it is crucial to understand what lies behind any pension differences between men and women. </p> <p>There are three main potential drivers behind this phenomenon:</p> <ol> <li> <p>Different labour market experiences: the “<a href="https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/10358">gender pay gap</a>”, and the fact that <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Duration_of_working_life_-_statistics#:%7E:text=In%202019%2C%20the%20estimated%20expected,aged%2015%20years%20and%20more">men have</a> longer paid working lives than women;</p> </li> <li> <p>Different investment strategies: when it comes to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/pension-types">defined contribution pensions</a>, <a href="https://s-h-w.com/news-articles">men choose</a> to invest in portfolios with a higher expected rate of return.</p> </li> <li> <p>Different saving rates: as <a href="https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/15425">we investigate</a> below, men and women may also differ in how likely they are to be offered a pension in their job, or tend to work for employers that contribute more or less to a pension, or tend to make different contributions themselves.</p> </li> </ol> <p>Importantly, the role of these potential drivers will have changed over time for various reasons. Mothers <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/familiesandthelabourmarketengland/2019#:%7E:text=In%20April%20to%20June%202019%2C%20three%20in%20four%20mothers%20with,mothers%20in%20employment%20in%202000.">have increasingly participated</a> in the labour market over the years, for example. Final salary pensions have been reformed to career average schemes, which in particular reduced the generosity for long stayers and those with stronger pay growth, <a href="https://www.pensionspolicyinstitute.org.uk/sponsor-research/research-reports/2013/17-05-2013-the-implications-of-the-coalition-governments-public-service-pension-reforms/">affecting men</a> more than women. Also, <a href="https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/about-pensions/pensions-basics/automatic-enrolment">automatic enrolment</a> has been introduced for workplace pensions, which affected everyone’s participation in them. </p> <p>Gaps in pension income today may therefore reflect labour markets and pension arrangements from many years ago, and the gap in pension income for current working-age individuals may be quite different when they reach retirement. In an ongoing programme of work at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, funded by the <a href="https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/">Nuffield Foundation</a>, we are examining in detail differences in pension saving rates between men and women that will contribute to a future “gender pension gap” for today’s working age individuals. </p> <h2>Making sense of the gap</h2> <p>In a <a href="https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/15421">first publication</a>, we have documented differences in average pension saving between male and female employees before the introduction of <a href="https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/about-pensions/pensions-basics/automatic-enrolment">automatic enrolment</a> in 2012. We found that on average across all employees (whether saving in a pension or not), women of all ages actually contributed more as a proportion of their earnings each year than men. </p> <p>However, this was driven by the fact that women were more likely to work in the public sector, where contribution rates are typically higher. Examining average pension saving among men and women within each sector reveals a different pattern. The average saving rates of male and female employees were similar until around age 35 but then diverged, with average contributions continuing to increase with age for men but not changing for women. </p> <p>The graphs below unpick what was driving this pattern among private-sector employees in Great Britain (though the pattern was broadly similar for public-sector employees). It was caused by the extent to which men and women participated in a pension. </p> <p>The proportion of men and women saving anything in a private pension was similar until around age 30 but then diverged, with men increasingly likely to be saving in a pension as they get older, while women’s pension participation plateaued. On the other hand, average contribution rates for those saving in a pension were actually slightly higher as a share of earnings among women than men. </p> <p><strong>Pension participation in overall savings</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/graph-1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><strong>Average contribution rates in pension savings</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/graph-2.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p>What might have been driving differences in pension participation? The timing of the divergence in people’s lives mirrored the evolution of the gender gaps <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2020">in pay</a>, <a href="https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/13673">commuting</a> and <a href="https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/14032">firm productivity</a>, and suggested that the arrival of children and related employment decisions was an important factor. </p> <p>So in our ongoing programme of research we are examining whether the gap in pension participation is associated with the arrival of children, and the extent to which female employees received a different pension offer from their employer, or made different saving decisions when presented with the same offer as male employees. </p> <h2>Effect of automatic enrolment</h2> <p>The introduction of automatic enrolment into workplace pensions has substantially changed pension-saving behaviour – in particular, substantially increasing pension participation among employees targeted by the policy. The graph below shows the proportion of male and female employees of different ages who were saving in a private workplace pension in 2012 and 2019 in Great Britain. </p> <p>The pattern in 2012 is represented by the two sets of dashed lines, with men again in blue and women in purple. It is similar to that estimated in the first graph in this article. </p> <p>But the pattern in 2019 is totally different. Rather than participation diverging at a particular age, women are now slightly less likely to be in a pension at all ages than men (but the level of participation among both is considerably higher). Automatic enrolment will therefore have fundamentally changed the nature of the gender gap in pension-saving rates going forwards. </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Pension participation 2019 vs 2012</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/graph-3.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p>This highlights the importance of examining gender differences in saving rates, rather than just accrued pension wealth or pension income. Focusing on the latter risks developing policies to fix a perceived problem that has already changed.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/gender-pension-gap-why-women-save-less-and-why-thats-changing-dramatically-160648" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>

Retirement Income

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Woman marries ex-boyfriend’s dad

<p dir="ltr">A woman who married her ex-boyfriend’s father in which there is a 24-year age gap has spoken out about how the exciting relationship came to be. </p> <p dir="ltr">Sydney Dean, 27, from Ohio was only in year 6 when she met her childhood boyfriend’s dad, Paul.</p> <p dir="ltr">Unfortunately, the relationship came to an end but Sydney and Paul’s son remained friends until he got another girlfriend in high school. </p> <p dir="ltr">Sydney felt like a third wheel and ended up speaking to Paul who she never “expected to fall in love with”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The pair began dating when Sydney turned 16, the legal age of consent in the state of Ohio before Paul proposed in 2016. </p> <p dir="ltr">It was difficult for the loved up couple to explain to family and friends that their relationship was real.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My mum already knew who Paul was and, from the few times they have talked, they got along just fine,” Sydney told Jam Press.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But when I first told my mum that we were together, she was not happy.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The age gap really got to her and it stayed that way for about a year [until] eventually she came around.” </p> <p dir="ltr">Sydney’s parents eventually grew to love Paul, with her mother visiting “all the time”. </p> <p dir="ltr">But it was rough on Paul’s youngest son who already “knew” Sydney who took the news the hardest.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He didn’t agree with the relationship for a couple of years,” Sydney said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But now that we are married, he supports us being together.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He comes over with his girlfriend and their three children every other weekend just to hang out.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Sydney is hoping that her love story removes the stigma toward relationships with big age gaps. </p> <p dir="ltr">She said that Paul “is the best husband” and he treats her well. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: 7News/Jam Press</em></p>

Relationships

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Companies scramble after being called out by gender pay gap bot

<p dir="ltr">A Twitter account exposing the gender pay gap at companies tweeting about International Women’s Day has caused a stir, prompting several of those companies to delete their posts.</p> <p dir="ltr">The account, appropriately called the <a href="https://twitter.com/PayGapApp">Gender Pay Gap Bot</a>, has seemed to take the internet by storm after it was first started in March 2021.</p> <p dir="ltr">Using data from the UK government’s gender pay gap service website, the account retweets posts from British companies with the median hourly pay difference between male and female employees.</p> <p dir="ltr">For example, fashion house Missguided tweeted: “Happy International Women’s Day! We’re paying it forward this IWD, and we’re giving away prizes throughout the day, including x2 lots of £1000 CASH.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-7231358a-7fff-4b42-ea1d-78f2b21fff63"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“To win, tweet us using #PayItForwardWithMissguided and share the best piece of advice you’ve received.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">In this organisation, women's median hourly pay is 40% lower than men's. <a href="https://t.co/wm3Nsro6Zq">https://t.co/wm3Nsro6Zq</a></p> <p>— Gender Pay Gap Bot (@PayGapApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/PayGapApp/status/1501146247964635144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The Gender Pay Gap Bot replied with, “In this organisation women’s median hourly pay is 40 percent lower than men’s”.</p> <p dir="ltr">For a majority of companies, the bot has actually reported that women’s pay was higher than men’s, including West London NHS Trust, Rowans Hospice and The Landmark Trust, and that St John’s Ambulance employees were paid equally.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-56901034-7fff-7c6e-4812-7080e92e0b1b"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">However, some of the companies where women earn less than men have scrambled to delete their tweets after they were called out by the bot.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">In this organisation, women's median hourly pay is 0.9% lower than men's. <a href="https://t.co/s9pLQU4jKf">https://t.co/s9pLQU4jKf</a></p> <p>— Gender Pay Gap Bot (@PayGapApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/PayGapApp/status/1501346190008352768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">In this organisation, women's median hourly pay is 81.6% lower than men's. <a href="https://t.co/0v0YFNb1r2">https://t.co/0v0YFNb1r2</a></p> <p>— Gender Pay Gap Bot (@PayGapApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/PayGapApp/status/1501315689738559493?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The creators of the bot, Manchester-based copywriter Francesca Lawson and software developer Alastair Fensome, told <em><a href="https://qz.com/work/2139235/the-creators-of-gender-pay-gap-twitter-bot-explain-their-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Quartz</a></em> they made it to put the spotlight on companies and ensure their empowering words matched their actions.</p> <p dir="ltr">“[We] built it to put the gender pay gap data in the spotlight and enable the public to hold companies to account over the words of ‘empowerment’, ‘inspiration’ and ‘celebration’ they tweet on International Women’s Day,” Lawson explained via email.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The data shows their supportive posts are rarely backed up by action.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-81483d81-7fff-a090-13b9-181471e28830"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @PayGapApp (Twitter)</em></p>

Technology

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Pain and the brain: Closing the gap between modern pain science and clinical practice

<div> <div class="copy"> <p>Statistics show that chronic pain affects 3.4 million Australians – that’s almost 14% of the population.</p> <p>But while pain science discoveries have enormous consequences on chronic pain treatment, the medical community knows little about them.</p> <p>Pain scientists have been urging clinicians for decades to ditch the traditional biomedical approach and adopt a multidisciplinary and multimodal methodology to chronic pain treatment.</p> <p>This latter approach considers the biological, psychological and social factors that affect the patient’s perception of danger.</p> <p>Evidence-based treatment includes a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0004951414601690?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">combination</a> of pharmacological and non-pharmacological techniques, including pain education, physiotherapy management and mental health support.</p> <p>“We have developed a four-steps process that brings together all these ideas (drawn from modern pain science),” says Professor Benedict Wand, a pain scientist at the University of Notre Dame.</p> <p>The first, fundamental step of this process, he says, is modern pain neurobiology education, which helps people gain a less threatening understanding of pain.</p> <p>The second step is helping the person feel safe to move, while the third step includes an active progressive rehabilitation that gradually loads the body so that movement continues to feel safe.</p> <p>Lastly, the focus shifts towards making the body stronger.</p> <p class="has-text-align-center"><strong><em>Read more: <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/medicine/chronic-pain-in-women-could-be-genetic/" target="_blank">Chronic pain in women could be genetic</a></em></strong></p> <p>The biomedical model in which most health professionals in Australia have been trained describes pain as a direct consequence of tissue damage – the more severe an injury, the stronger the pain.</p> <p>In this model, pain provides an accurate measure of the state of the tissues, and it can be ‘fixed’ by providing pain relief.</p> <p>“We originally thought that pain was a simple readout of noxious information from the body,” says Wand. “But that is certainly not the process that underpins complex and long-standing pain experiences.”</p> <p>Decades of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.cor-kinetic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/reconceptualizing-pain.pdf" target="_blank">research</a> in pain science have led scientists to believe that the level of pain is not an indication of the level of tissue damage.</p> <p>Instead, scientists have discovered that pain is a vital mechanism that happens in the brain (and not in the tissues) to protect us from more severe injuries.</p> <p>When we get hurt, pain receptors send a ‘possible threat’ signal to the brain, which then evaluates the danger of the threat by drawing information from current and past experiences and the state of the mind.</p> <p>If the brain does not perceive the circumstance as dangerous, it will not cause pain.</p> <p>If we are anxious or frightened, our brain might perceive the situation as dangerous and produce pain to protect us.</p> <p>“An interaction between incoming information from the world around you and held information – things that you already think and feel and believe – gives rise to an experience of pain when you judge your body to be under threat or needing protection,” says Wand.</p> <p>In one <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://journals.lww.com/pain/Fulltext/2007/12150/The_context_of_a_noxious_stimulus_affects_the_pain.9.aspx" target="_blank">study</a>, scientists placed an ice-cold rod on the back of volunteers’ hands while showing them either a red or blue light.</p> <p>The rod was at the same temperature each time, but those who were shown the red light, which in our imagery represents danger, reported more intense pain than those who saw the blue light.</p> <p>In another <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://journals.lww.com/pain/Fulltext/1998/01000/The_role_of_prior_pain_experience_and_expectancy.24.aspx" target="_blank">experiment</a>, volunteers put their heads inside what they thought was a ‘head stimulator’.</p> <p>In front of them, researchers manoeuvred an ‘intensity knob’.</p> <p>The volunteers reported levels of pain that correlated with the intensity on the knob, although the stimulator was doing nothing at all.</p> <p>These studies suggest that pain is not a response to real danger or physical damage but to perceived danger, says Professor Lorimer Moseley, a pain scientist at the University of South Australia.</p> <p>Consequently, psychosocial factors that alter our perception of threat play a crucial role in the level of pain we experience.</p> <p>When pain becomes chronic, it is less about physical damage and more about a pain system that has become excessively protective.</p> <p>A physical cause of the pain might never be found in scans, yet the pain people feel is real, says Moseley.</p> <h2><strong>Go the distance for pain science</strong></h2> <p>While lack of access to multidisciplinary pain services is a countrywide issue, rural and regional areas are severely underserved.</p> <p>Pain Revolution is <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.painrevolution.org/" target="_blank">an organisation</a> set up to close the gap between modern pain science and clinical practice in rural and regional communities.</p> <p>The organisation has established a Local Pain Educator Program that trains rural and regional GPs and health professionals in modern pain science and management.</p> <p>In turn, they support their communities by providing pain education to the public.</p> <p>With another project called the Local Pain Collectives, Pain Revolution helps rural and regional health professionals establish community-based, interdisciplinary networks to build their skills in contemporary pain education and management.</p> <p>“Two essential ingredients for recovery from persistent pain are learning and movement,” says Moseley, who is also CEO of Pain Revolution.</p> <p>“There is very strong evidence that movement is medicine. Our muscles, bones, ligaments, skin, tendons – you name it – <em>love</em> movement.”</p> <p>To support its work, Pain Revolution has launched a virtual challenge to raise funds called Go the Distance.</p> <p>“Go the Distance is challenging everyone to learn a bit more about pain and get moving, and walking, running and cycling are three easy ways to do it,” says Moseley.</p> <p>The initiative has replaced the annual Rural Outreach Tour, which had previously been the major Pain Revolution fundraiser.</p> <p>“Like many events in 2021, COVID has meant that we had to find an alternative to the tour,” says Moseley.</p> <p>The initiative will be held in October, and it challenges participants to walk, run or ride as far as possible to support people who suffer from chronic pain and often don’t receive medical care that is based on the latest scientific evidence.</p> <p>If you want to help, support our science writer Manuela Callari, who has taken the challenge, by donating <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://painrevolution.raisely.com/manuela-callari" target="_blank">here</a>. If you want to sign up as an individual, or join a team, go to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://painrevolution.raisely.com/" target="_blank">painrevolution.raisely.com</a>.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article was originally published by <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/pain-and-the-brain-closing-the-gap-between-modern-pain-science-and-clinical-practice/" target="_blank">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Dr Manuela Callari.</em></p> </div> </div>

Body

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Hope Gap shows what can happen when a marriage ends

<p>A couple's visit with their son in the quaint seaside town of Seaford in England, takes a dramatic turn when the father tells him he plans on leaving his mother.</p> <p><span>As well-trodden as this subject might be, there’s still something terribly compelling about watching the end of a marriage play out on screen. Annette Bening plays the woman whose life crumbles as her husband leaves her and Bill Nighy plays the husband. </span>Josh O'Connor plays the couple's son.</p> <p>This drama is tastefully restrained to a fault in a particularly British manner. Veteran screenwriter William Nicholson, a two-time Oscar nominee, based the film on his Tony-nominated play <em>The Retreat from Moscow</em> – shows his talents here.</p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oAP1fA-bp5k" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>The title of the film was inspired by Napoleon’s invasion of—and messy withdrawal from—the Russian city, a subject which fascinates Nighy’s character and serves as an obvious metaphor for the destruction of his own marriage.</p> <p><span>It’s obvious we have all the makings of a genuine story here in </span><em>Hope Gap</em><span> but some reviewers have said the film doesn't have the emotional depth for the areas being covered. </span></p> <p><span>As well, Annette Bening has come in for some criticism about her ill</span>-fitting British accent. But there are glimmers of insight along the way, particularly in how Grace (Bening’s character) compares a divorce to a murder and how spurned women are devalued in comparison with widows.</p> <p>Throughout the story, we're served up some stunning coastal vistas from Seaford which is close to Brighton in southern England. <em>Hope Gap</em> is worth it if just for these vistas and the great performances from Nighy and Bening.</p> <p><em><strong>Hope Gap</strong></em><strong> is streaming now on Amazon Prime.</strong></p> <p><em>Photo: Amazon Prime</em></p>

Movies

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Women retire with less than men: Boosting compulsory super won’t help

<p>All sorts of claims are being made following the release of the Retirement Income Review, including that it paid insufficient attention to issues of gender.</p> <p>Among other things we are being told that the gap between female and male super would narrow if compulsory contributions were lifted from 9.5% to 12%.</p> <p>It wouldn’t, not at all. As the <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/publication/p2020-100554">review</a> of which I was a member states, “maintaining the superannuation guarantee at 9.5% would avoid the increases in inequities associated with the superannuation guarantee rate rising to 12%”.</p> <p>Since men on average earn more than women, increasing the superannuation guarantee rate would widen — rather than narrow — the retirement income gap.</p> <p>By design, superannuation is a contributory scheme. That means what you get in retirement depends largely on how long you have been in the workforce and how much you have been paid.</p> <p>In that respect women are at a disadvantage, firstly due to the gender pay gap.</p> <p><strong>Women get less super because they get less pay</strong></p> <p>The review points out in November 2019 the gap in total average weekly earnings was 16.9% for women and men working full-time.</p> <p>The Bureau of Statistics reported in December 2020 that the pay gap had fallen to <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/gender-indicators-australia/latest-release#economic-security">13.4%</a>.</p> <p>While there is still a way to go, it’s an improvement.</p> <p>However, the second and greater disadvantage for women is that they are far more likely to take on caring roles that lead to career breaks and part-time employment.</p> <p>Some 93% of all primary carer leave is taken by women. The result is a gender pay gap of closer to <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-work-hours/average-weekly-earnings-australia/latest-release">30%</a> when part-time and full-time work are taken together.</p> <p><strong>Several things could help</strong></p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390716/original/file-20210321-15-1jrip39.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390716/original/file-20210321-15-1jrip39.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-02/p2020-100554-ud03_equity.pdf" class="source">The Retirement Incomes Review modelled retirement outcomes by gender.</a></span></p> <p>To understand the contribution of career breaks to super balances and retirement incomes, the review constructed and modelled <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-02/p2020-100554-ud03_equity.pdf">five different scenarios</a> for female workers based on observed patterns of career breaks and part-time work.</p> <p>Not surprisingly the modelling found that when women take more time out of the workforce, the gender gap in superannuation balances increases. Breaks earlier in careers have a greater impact on balances than breaks taken later.</p> <p>In recent decades the impact of career breaks has been declining as women take less time out of the workforce. Average female working life climbed from 24 years in 1980 to around 38 years in 2019.</p> <p>There are a number of measures that could improve super outcomes for women.</p> <p>The review found one would be to require the payment of superannuation on employer paid parental leave and <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/parental-leave-pay">government parental leave pay</a>.</p> <p><strong>The super gap isn’t as wide as the pay gap</strong></p> <p>Another would be to require employers to make superannuation contributions to workers earning less than <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Super-for-employers/">$450 per month</a>.</p> <p>The present exemption impacts directly on those who work part-time and who work for a number of different employers, 63% of whom are women.</p> <p>Both options would improve the retirement incomes of women, but only marginally mitigate the gender gap inherent in the way superannuation is structured.</p> <p>But here’s what else we found. A number of measures already in place do quite a bit to lessen the gap.</p> <p>Among them are the <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Super/In-detail/Growing-your-super/Low-income-super-tax-offset/">Low-Income Superannuation Tax Offset</a> and the <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Super/In-detail/Growing-your-super/Super-co-contribution/">government superannuation co-contribution</a>.</p> <p>Because women earn less than men, both benefit women far more than men.</p> <p>Also, women benefit from the imposition of <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Super/In-detail/Growing-your-super/Division-293-tax---information-for-individuals/">Division 293 tax</a> which limits concessions for higher income earners, who are more likely to be men.</p> <p><strong>Half as worse off in retirement</strong></p> <p>And women also make higher <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-02/p2020-100554-ud03_equity.pdf">voluntary super contributions</a> as a proportion of incomes then men. This is particularly so for women over the age of 50, suggesting some make a concerted effort to catch up.</p> <p>As a result, in 2017‑18 the median gap in superannuation balances between men and women aged 60‑64 was <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-02/p2020-100554-ud03_equity.pdf">22%</a>, considerably less than the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-work-hours/average-weekly-earnings-australia/latest-release">30%</a> gender gap in pay.</p> <p>And the age pension means test means that once women move into retirement, they are more likely than men to get the age pension, and to get more of it.</p> <p>When the age pension and superannuation income are combined, the retirement income gap for women who have worked full time with no career break falls to <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-02/p2020-100554-ud03_equity.pdf">8.4%</a> For women with two career breaks and part-time work it falls to <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-02/p2020-100554-ud03_equity.pdf">14.5%</a>.</p> <p>We could do better, and the review spelled out steps to take. It found that boosting compulsory super contributions was not one of them.</p> <p>An increase in the proportion of income sent to super would lift the retirement incomes of high earners more than the retirement incomes of low earners.</p> <p>Until things change, increases in compulsory super will boost the retirement incomes of men more than women.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157412/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/deborah-ralston-107436">Deborah Ralston</a>, Professorial fellow, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></span></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-women-retire-with-less-than-men-but-boosting-compulsory-super-wont-help-157412">original article</a>.</p>

Retirement Income

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“He’s not my dad”: Couple with 29-year age gap leaves onlookers stunned

<p>A couple who has a 29-year age gap have revealed they are constantly confused for being a father and daughter duo, and insist they are happier together.</p> <p>Kayla Caudill, 23, from Georgia, US, met her 51-year-old boyfriend Stephen Dunn in May 2019 while he did her belly button piercing.</p> <p>Kayla says that while both she and Stephen were in relationships at the time, they exchanged conversation and formed a friendship.</p> <p>“We definitely didn't have love at first sight, but there was something special there,” Kayla said.</p> <p>“Neither one of us were in the position to pursue a relationship at that time. He was with someone and I was married. It was strictly a friendship in the beginning.</p> <p> “I thought he was so charismatic, handsome, and attentive. He thought I was kind and liked how I listened when he spoke. There was no denying our connection.”</p> <p>The pair confirmed that neither of them were happy or fulfilled in their previous relationships but found solace in each other as communication came easy and sparks flew.</p> <p>In 2019, Kayla says they took a chance on each other and began a relationship.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7838161/couple.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/93ba909d2cbb457bbafce3fced46d98b" /></p> <p>“We both left everything we knew, everything we had built in our separate lives, for each other. It was crazy. I knew I had to have him. He was everything I had wanted in someone,” she said.</p> <p>“We have a gap in maturity obviously. I don't have as much life experience as him but I have been through a lot. He teaches me about life and I learn.</p> <p>“I'm more mature than my age labels me as and it works to my advantage. If I acted my age, we would not be together. I label myself as a forty-three-year-old in a twenty-three-year-old’s body.”</p> <p>The couple’s 29-year age difference has caused a divide with their families – Kayla has said her own father has disowned her.</p> <p>Additionally, Stephen’s ex-partner doesn’t want Kayla to be involved with his children - which she respects.</p> <p>For the most part, the pair’s families are happy to see them happy.</p> <p>“The longer we are together the more people start to see that we are just like any other couple who love and care for each other deeply,” Kayla revealed</p> <p>“We make each other laugh. We get another chance to really experience what love is supposed to be like. We help each other heal from past trauma in relationships and we have lots of sex.</p> <p>“It sounds crazy but it was something we've both lacked in previous relationships.”</p> <p> She says the most difficult thing is other people.</p> <p>“We understand that there are those that won't be understanding, those that are angry and hurt from our choice to be together, but at the end of the day we chose each other and we'd do it over and over again,” she said.</p> <p>“We get asked, ‘Is that your daughter?’ We love making others stare leaving them confused,” she added.</p> <p>“It's like comedic relief for us. We honestly need our own reality tv show because I think others would love some mindless entertainment that we call everyday life.”</p>

Relationships

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55-year age gap: Former priest moves to Romania with model husband

<p>An 81-year-old former Anglican priest and his much younger husband have settled down in Romania to finally live in the same country together.</p> <p>Philip Clements and Florin Martin, 27, tied the knot three years ago after meeting online – with the majority of their married life spent long-distance.</p> <p>But last month, Philip moved to Bucharest to be with his husband and the pair are now looking forward to celebrating their third wedding anniversary with a home-cooked meal.</p> <p>Philip said he was gradually adjusting to the new city as his home, with the couple determined to make their marriage last despite Florin partying every weekend.</p> <p>“He understands me much better and I understand him much better,” Philip told<span> </span><em>The Sun</em>.</p> <p>“I know when he’s busy not to disturb him and to give him space.</p> <p>“He goes to the gay club in Bucharest once a week and I’m fine with that.</p> <p>“He must have space to be with younger people, it’s very important when there’s this big age difference.</p> <p>“We’ve both learnt a lot.”</p> <p>Philip had previously sold his home in England to help fund his new life with Florin, as they spent thousands of pounds travelling the world together.</p> <p>But now, the couple are living off Philip’s teaching and church pension.</p> <p>Florin quit his job at a car rental company at the Ali Cante airport in Spain and is hoping to score a manager’s position in the future so the two can continue to travel together.</p> <p>“We do have to watch the money but Romania is cheaper than England so the money goes further,” said Philip.</p> <p>“We have enough to live on and enough to go to the cinema and out for a meal occasionally.”</p> <p>The pair have a 55-year age gap between them and met on Gaydar four years ago.</p> <p>They married in April 2017.</p>

International Travel

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Discover the world and yourself with a golden gap year

<p>Traditionally the domain of the teenager or early twenty-something, the ‘gap year’, a period where you take some extended time out to discover the world and yourself, is fast finding favour with the Baby Boomer.<br /><br />Also known as the ‘golden gap year”, increasingly Baby Boomers are spending extended periods of time overseas purely for a holiday but often bundling volunteering at a grass roots level, with their trip.<br /><br />Latest figures from Travel Associates (part of the Flight Centre group), reveal a <br />37 % increase in flights with no return date and an upswing in bookings for holidays of about 7- 9 months duration.<br /><br />After deciding to take a hiatus from his job as a school principal, 59-year-old Gus Van der Haas decided to plan an extended trip covering more than one continent. <br />In October, Mr Van der Haas will begin his six-month journey in Asia, where he will be helping with a local school literacy program. From there he plans to go to South America and finish his break in Europe holidaying.<br /><br />“I’ve always been confined in my job to the short school holiday periods, so it was a dream of mine to take an extended break discovering multiple countries and cultures I know very little about,” Mr Van der Haas said.<br /><br />Baby Boomer clients are increasingly taking up the idea of an extended holiday or ‘life break’ where they can devote their time to fulfilling bucket list style travel dreams and invest in their holidays, says national marketing manager at Travel Associates, Adrian Clarke.<br /><br />“Growth has been coming from older, full-time employed or retired holiday seekers looking for unique experiences and to do something where they can make a positive contribution,” he added.<br /><br />He said the most popular styles of volunteerism for Travel Associates clients is community-based, working with human development projects, in orphanages or teaching positions and conservation.<br /><br />One of the most popular volunteering destinations is Asia, however Africa is surging in popularity with Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania according to Travel Associates.</p> <p><strong>Top tips for planning your golden gap year</strong></p> <ul> <li>If travelling to more than one country, try to pick ones that are in close proximity to keep flight costs lower</li> <li>Consider travelling as a group, not only can you save money, but it’s a great way to meet like-minded people</li> <li>Create the ultimate bucket list and get packing </li> </ul> <p><em>Written by Danielle Cesta. Republished with permission of </em><a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/work/employment/golden-gap-year.aspx"><em>Wyza.com.au.</em></a></p>

Cruising

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Age gap love: The 25-year-old woman who is in love with a 62-year-old man

<p>A mother of two has fallen in love again. After being burned by her last relationship, Laura Wright, 25, wasn’t looking for love until she boarded a bus in Plymouth, southwest England.</p> <p>It was here she met Steve Churchward, 62, as she was travelling with her six-year-old son, Brayden.</p> <p>She was taking her son to kindergarten when she struck up a conversation with Steve in 2015.</p> <p>Steve was a bus driver for Plymouth, and it was coincidentally the bus that Wright had hopped onto. He asked for her name and then sent her a friend request on Facebook.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D10216924835783521%26set%3Da.1518115363212%26type%3D3&amp;width=500" width="500" height="502" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>A month later, the pair admitted to having feelings for each other.</p> <p>They moved in together in November 2015 and the pair were engaged in December 2017.</p> <p>There are plans to marry this year.</p> <p>According to Laura, they’ve never noticed the 37-year age gap.</p> <p>“Steve’s age has never bothered us in the slightest, and it’s not something I notice,” she said.</p> <p>“I feel so lucky to have him by my side. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”</p> <p>Although it sounds sweet now, it wasn’t all roses at the beginning.</p> <p>“He was bald and wrinkly with a beer belly. He wasn’t my usual type, and I didn’t find him attractive at first,” she said.</p> <p>Despite the age gap, Laura maintains she can’t keep up with Steve, saying their sex life is “certainly busy”.</p> <p>“That’s despite the age gap,” she laughs.</p> <p>“And you’d never know Steve is in his 60s, I can’t keep up with him.”</p> <p>The relationship blossomed, although there were bumps with family members.</p> <p>“I discovered Steve was then 59 and had three children who were more than five years older than I was,” Laura said.</p> <p>“My dad is 10 years younger than Steve, so I worried they’d be upset,</p> <p>“But when I told them I loved him they were happy for us, and when they finally met Steve, they loved him too.”</p> <p>Steve is a loving father to Laura’s two children.</p> <p>“Steve would cook dinner for me and the kids or get them ready for school,” she said.</p> <p>“He treated them like his own children. Braydon even calls Steve ‘Daddy’.”</p> <p>With the wedding planned for June this year, Laura can’t wait.</p> <p>“It was the biggest shock. Now we’re planning our wedding day, and I can’t wait for us to be a proper family."</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D538898689806765%26set%3Dp.538898689806765%26type%3D3&amp;width=500" width="500" height="285" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>What do you think about age gap romances? Is there a big age gap between you and your partner? Tell us in the comments below. </p>

Relationships

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Mind the gap – does age difference in relationships matter?

<p>Romantic couples with a large age gap often raise eyebrows. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00408.x">Studies have found</a> partners with more than a ten-year gap in age experience social disapproval. But when it comes to our own relationships, both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00067595">men and women prefer someone</a> their own age, but are open to someone 10-15 years their junior or senior.</p> <p>While there is variation across cultures in the size of the difference in age-gap couples, <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;id=wBIRsa3DfO0C&amp;oi=fnd&amp;pg=PA289&amp;ots=ZIPanjTQvR&amp;sig=wPWqfefoczfj4p3G0-3iiqnIJ4M#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">all cultures demonstrate the age-gap couple phenomenon</a>. In some non-Western countries, <a href="http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldmarriage/worldmarriage.htm">the average age gap</a> is much larger than in Western countries. For example, in some African countries about 30% of unions reflect a large age gap.</p> <p>So does age matter? And do couples with large age gaps experience poorer (or better) relationship outcomes compared to couples of similar ages?</p> <p><strong>How many relationships have a big age gap?</strong></p> <p>Across Western countries, <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781135221157/chapters/10.4324%2F9780203874370-7">about 8% of all married heterosexual couples</a> can be classified as having a large age gap (ten years or more). These generally involve older men partnered with younger women. About 1% of age-gap couples involve an older woman partnered with a younger man.</p> <p>The limited evidence on same-sex couples, however, suggests the <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781135221157/chapters/10.4324%2F9780203874370-7">prevalence rates are higher</a>. About 25% of male-male unions and 15% of female-female unions demonstrate a large age gap.</p> <p>But what these trends tell us is that the majority of the population is likely to partner with someone of similar age. This largely has to do with having social circles that generally include peers of similar ages and being attracted to others who are similar. Similarity entails many things, including personality, interests and values, life goals and stage of life, and physical traits (age being a marker of physical appearance).</p> <p><strong>Why doesn’t age matter to some?</strong></p> <p>Many of the reasons proposed for age-gap couples have been largely rooted in evolutionary explanations, and focus on explaining older man-younger woman pairings.</p> <p>From this perspective, it’s thought men’s preferences for younger women and women’s preferences for older men relate to reproductive fitness. That is, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8721.00070">the extent to which someone has “good genes”</a> – indicated by their attractiveness and sense of energy (also known as vitality) – and the extent to which they are a “good investment” – indicated by their status and resources as well as their warmth and sense of trust.</p> <p>Although men and women place importance on a partner who is warm and trustworthy, women place more importance on the status and resources of their male partner. This is largely because, with women being the child bearers, the investment is very high on their behalf (time and effort in child bearing and rearing). So they are attuned to looking for a partner who will also invest resources into a relationship and family.</p> <p>But because the building of resources takes time, we tend to acquire resources later in life and so are older by the time we have acquired enough wealth and resources to comfortably provide for others. So, women’s attunement to status and resources might explain why some women may be attracted to older men.</p> <p>In contrast, there’s evidence to suggest men value attractiveness and vitality more than women because, from an evolutionary standpoint, youth is seen as an indicator of fertility. Given men cannot bear children, evolution suggests they’re attuned to younger women to enhance the chances of partnering with someone who can provide children.</p> <p>But the evolutionary explanation is limited in that it doesn’t explain why the reverse occurs (an older woman-younger man pairing), or why age gaps exist within same-sex couples. For this, socio-cultural explanations might provide insights.</p> <p>With more women working, in higher positions and being paid more, they no longer have such a reliance on men for resources. So fewer women will prioritise resources when looking for a mate.</p> <p>As for same-sex couples, there’s very little research. <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781135221157/chapters/10.4324%2F9780203874370-7">Some suggest a lack of</a>, or a reduced pool of, suitable age-similar mates may bring about same-sex coupling with large age differences.</p> <p><strong>What are the relationship outcomes for age-gap couples?</strong></p> <p>Many people assume that age-gap couples fare poorly when it comes to relationship outcomes. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00408.x">some studies find</a> the relationship satisfaction reported by age-gap couples is higher. These couples also seem to report greater trust and commitment and lower jealousy than similar-age couples. <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-55834-001?doi=1">Over three-quarters</a> of couples where younger women are partnered with older men report satisfying romantic relationships.</p> <p>A factor that does impact on the relationship outcomes of age-gap couples is their perceptions of social disapproval. That is, if people in age-gap couples believe their family, friends and wider community disapprove of their union, then <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781135221157/chapters/10.4324%2F9780203874370-7">relationship commitment decreases</a> and the risk of break-up increases.</p> <p>These effects appear to apply to heterosexual and same-sex couples. So the negative outcomes for age-gap couples seem to reside not in problems within the couple, but in pressures and judgments from the outside world.</p> <p>Another factor at play may have to do with the stage of life each partner is experiencing. For instance, a ten-year gap between a 20-year-old and a 30-year-old may bring up different challenges and issues than for a ten-year gap where one partner is 53 and the other is 63.</p> <p>This is because our lives are made up of different stages, and each stage consists of particular life tasks we need to master. And we give priority to the mastery of different tasks <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1986-19674-001">during these distinct stages of our lives</a>. So when each member of a couple straddles a different life stage, it may be difficult for the couple to reconcile each other’s differing life needs and goals.</p> <p><strong>Does age matter?</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195398694.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780195398694">The success of a relationship</a> depends on the extent to which partners share similar values, beliefs and goals about their relationship; support each other in achieving personal goals; foster relationship commitment, trust and intimacy; and resolve problems in constructive ways. These factors have little do with age.</p> <p>So the reality is, while an age gap may bring about some challenges for couples, so long as couples work at their relationship, age should be no barrier.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94132/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em>Written by <span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gery-karantzas-178159">Gery Karantzas</a>, Associate professor in Social Psychology / Relationship Science, Deakin University</span>. Republished with permission of <span><a href="https://theconversation.com/mind-the-gap-does-age-difference-in-relationships-matter-94132">The Conversation</a></span>. </em></p>

Relationships

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4 reasons you should consider a golden gap year

<p>While it goes some way to help, a happy retirement isn’t just about the size of your nest egg. <a href="https://www.equipsuper.com.au/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Equip</span></strong></a> puts it well in a <a href="https://www.equipsuper.com.au/blog/5-things-about-retirement" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">recent blog post,</span></strong></a> “The conversations around retirement tend to focus on money – will you have enough, will it last? While financial security is important, there’s more to retirement than just your bank balance.”</p> <p>If you’re approaching retirement but not 100 per cent sure you’re ready to take the plunge, a “golden gap year” might be just what the doctor ordered. Whether you’re travelling around the world, or working reduced hours to explore your passions, a golden gap year can be the perfect way to dip your toes in the water.</p> <p>Here are four reasons why:</p> <p><strong>1. A chance to see what retirement you want  </strong></p> <p>Part of what’s so appealing about a golden gap year is that it gives you a better idea to how you want your retirement to look. You might find after a year of travelling, you’d prefer to spend your retirement-proper at home. Or, after a year of tinkering on your passion project in the workshop, you may feel the urge to return to full time work. A golden gap year provides valuable insight before you make the final decision.</p> <p><strong>2. A chance to focus on your wellbeing</strong></p> <p>After a lifetime of working hard for someone else, it can be quite refreshing to have the opportunity to spend a little bit of time on yourself. Even if you decide you’re going to go back to full time work at the end of 12 months, a golden gap year gives you a valuable opportunity to take a breather and really focus on your wellbeing.</p> <p><strong>3. A chance to spend time with those who are important</strong></p> <p>Even if you’re not working a 40-hour week, it’s not uncommon to feel as though you’re not getting enough time to spend with the people who are important to you. A golden gap year will free up your time considerable. Instead of spending three hours arguing with Jan from accounts, you can catch up with your children or grandchildren.</p> <p><strong>4. Your finances won’t necessarily take that big a hit</strong></p> <p>A year without full-time work may seem like the death-knell to your finances (especially when you’re on the very cusp of retirement). But it doesn’t necessarily have to be this way. Super funds like Equip <a href="https://www.equipsuper.com.au/retirement/planning-your-retirement/transition-to-retirement" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">transition to retirement pension products</span></strong></a> that allow you to still draw a full-time income without having to work those extra hours.</p> <p>Do you think you would ever consider a golden gap year?</p> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.equipsuper.com.au/" target="_blank">Equip</a></strong></span> manages $7 billion of investments for members working across a wide range of Australian industry sectors. This <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.equipsuper.com.au/" target="_blank">superannuation fund</a> </strong></span>has been providing strong investment performance and has been a reliable provider of retirement benefits for over 80 years.</em></p> <p><em>This article is for general information only. You should seek formal financial advice on your specific circumstances.</em></p>

Retirement Income