Let's spare a few thoughts during the holiday break for the true outsiders of super: women and the self-employed.

The super savings and super coverage of these two groups are much lower than much of the workforce. This has been repeatedly documented.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), for instance, released a research paper in 2008 showing that 81% of the self-employed had little or no super.

And in the November 2009 issue of Superfunds magazine, published by ASFA, the association's research director Ross Clare wrote: "The median superannuation balance for those with superannuation was only $31,250 in 2007 for men, but only $18,500 for women."

This gap in super savings would grow with age.

The main reason for the low super savings of the majority of self-employed is relatively straightforward. The Superannuation Guarantee system does extent to them.

ASFA is among those advocating that compulsory super should also cover the self-employed.

Another factor working against the accumulation of super by the self-employed is the understandable temptation to put back any cash left over at the end of the day back into the business – particularly if a business is struggling.

It should be recognised, however, that the self-employed number prominently among the membership of SMSFs. As the Cooper Review's inquiry into the Australian super system emphasises, many sole traders and small family business owners use SMSFs as their favoured form to save in super.

Women can have considerable difficulties in accumulating super savings due to such common factors as careers interrupted to raise families, struggles to rejoin the workforce after long absences, and lower average incomes than men.

It will be interesting to learn what may or may not emerge from Cooper Review and the Henry Review into Australia's future tax system regarding the super of women and the self-employed.

The issues paper for the third phase of the Cooper Review states regarding women: "Excluding issues of adequacy resulting from broken workforce participation and lower incomes, which fall within the scope of the Henry tax review, are there specific issues which disadvantage women in their interaction with the superannuation industry? Are there any other clearly identifiable groups for whom specific provision could and should be made within super?"

To read this issues paper, click here. 

The Henry Review has already given its opinion that the SG system should not be extended to the self-employed. In its issues paper, the review wrote: "The Superannuation Guarantee, since its inception, has not been applied to business income. The reluctance to extend the Superannuation Guarantee to small business recognises the diversity of the small business sector, its varying capital, liquidity and investment needs.

"While small business people and the self-employed should make provision for their retirement, the costs of compulsion may be higher in this sector than for employees." (read more).

If you are self-employed and/or a woman, a smart New Year's resolution would be to try to ensure that your superannuation savings are adequate.