Pharmacy assistants can now accelerate their super, courtesy of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s superannuation fund, GuildSuper.
Supersuper is a new product that will change the way many people contribute to their retirement and the key difference is that it isn’t linked to their income.
Instead, in a first for the super industry and the people of Australia, Supersuper contributions are linked to member’s expenditure.
Supersuper allows people to earn money towards their super balance through their everyday shopping, without adding anything to their cost of living or changing their lifestyle.
While anyone can access and benefit from the program, GuildSuper specifically designed Supersuper with women in mind, a group who, up until now, have been disadvantaged by the superannuation system and who typically spend less time in the workplace, meaning a reduced opportunity to contribute to superannuation.
Women tend to be the main shoppers in the family so providing a program that allows them to grow their super balance each time they shop is a real and practical solution.
General Manager of GuildSuper Greg Everett said, “Women have been at a disadvantage for so long when it comes to saving for retirement. 86 per cent of our members are female and most of them, like the majority of Australian women, will not have enough money to retire without a radical new solution.
“This is because they often work in low-income roles, part-time, and will typically take time off to look after family. We knew we had to do something to create a better future for them in retirement and Supersuper is the result,” he said
Members who sign up for Supersuper can purchase eVouchers or gift cards via the Supersuper website, attracting an immediate five per cent discount. These can be spent on everyday shopping at participating retailers. A cash reward calculated on a percentage of every dollar spent, then goes directly into their super balance.
Supersuper say the program doesn’t cost members any extra and neither will their shopping. Instead, members earn money from the money they’re already spending on everyday things like groceries, petrol and movie tickets, alongside bigger ticket items such as furniture and airfares.
“In our modelling, if a member is doing their standard grocery shopping, putting their petrol through the program and including a few other bits and pieces, they can quite easily save an extra $1500 a year into their superannuation,” Mr Everett said.
“One of the other benefits that comes with the program, given that it’s an after-tax contribution into superannuation, is that it attracts the government co-contribution. So, anyone earning, say, less than $35,000 gets an additional $500 contributed by the government each year.”
GuildSuper says it is committed to creating solutions that make super approachable, relevant and part of everyday life for its members.
