MYOB working to close Superannuation Gender Gap

MYOB is actively seeking to maximise employees’ retirement savings, and has announced they will continue to contribute to employees’ superannuation savings throughout parental leave. In doing so, the online accounting software provider joins only a handful of progressive employers across Australia who offer this benefit to their team members.

MYOB’s Head of People and Performance, Alla Keogh, says this is a big step towards addressing the existing superannuation gender gap that sees the average super payout for women on retirement at $112,000 compared to the average payout of $198,000 for men.

“Women retire with 43 per cent less super savings than men, on average. One of the factors for this gap is the fact that women tend to spend more time out of the workforce to care for family, and because super is a percentage of your salary, that means less super,” says Ms Keogh.

“Furthermore, women are more likely to retire earlier and live longer than men. This means they are more likely to need more super for a comfortable retirement.”

In order to help their employees bridge the gap and build stronger superannuation balances, MYOB has adjusted their parental leave policy. Primary carers, with a minimum of 12 months’ service, will now receive full superannuation contribution payments for the length of their parental leave, up to 52 weeks.

Superannuation contributions from employers became mandatory in 1992, and has grown from 3 per cent to today’s 9.5 per cent of employees’ remuneration package including bonuses, commissions and loadings. However, this payment is currently not compulsory if an employee is on an unpaid leave of absence from work.

The change to MYOB’s parental leave policy is on top of their existing policy to pay eligible team members 12 weeks’ full salary and the Australian Government Paid Parental Leave Scheme offering up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave at the federal minimum weekly wage.

“It is great to see a significant employer like MYOB taking real steps to close the gender gap in superannuation savings for their staff,” says Pauline Vamos, CEO, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).

“It is a sad reality that the majority of women currently retire with inadequate savings to fund a comfortable lifestyle throughout their retirement. I hope to see more organisations following the lead set by MYOB and others in addressing this issue.

“Twelve months of SG applied to the parental leave of a 35-year-old woman earning $50,000 could add $20,000 to her final super balance, which will make a big difference in her retirement.”

MYOB believes their change in policy strengthens their commitment to a supportive and diverse working environment.

“At MYOB we recognise our talented team as a key competitive advantage and we feel this simple change is a great way to show our people that we value them. By supporting our employees in both their personal and their professional lives we hope to not only retain our existing talent, but attract further talent to join our fantastic team. We encourage employers think about ways they can work towards an equal future for all their employees,” says Ms Keogh.

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For further comment or other information please contact:

Sarah Beyrath, MYOB NZ PR & Corporate Affairs Manager

P: 02 9089 9043 / M: +61 427 223 841 / E: sarah.beyrath@myob.com

Louise Halloran, Ogilvy PR

P: 02 8437 5397 / M: +61 407 044 727 / E: louise.halloran@ogilvy.com.au

About MYOB

MYOB Group Ltd (ASX: MYO) is a leading cloud based business management solutions provider. It makes business life easier for approximately 1.2 million businesses across Australia and New Zealand by simplifying accounting, payroll, tax, practice management, CRM, job costing, inventory and more. MYOB provides ongoing support via many client service channels including a network of over 40,000 accountants, bookkeepers and other consultants. It is committed to ongoing innovation, particularly in cloud computing solutions, and in 2015 was awarded the BRW award for the most innovative large company for 500+ employees and placed 2nd in BRW’s Most Innovative Companies Award list across all categories nationally. For more information, visit http://investors.myob.com.au/Investors/ or follow @MYOB on Twitter.