Pascale Helyar-Moray launched Super-Rewards as an innovative mechanism to help women progressively boost their superannuation balances through an activity they already perform – shopping. Shopping via Super-Rewards, women earn cash rewards that contribute directly into their superannuation balances.
HOW SUPER-REWARDS BEGAN
What led you to start Super-Rewards?
I’ve worked for many years in financial services and saw myself writing content about compound interest and the importance of salary sacrifice. I saw myself over and over presenting about super and the super gap to rooms filled with women, who would then ask me, ‘Okay, but what do I DO?’ That moment of panic and fear in their eyes, as well as the realisation that they’re stuck financially, stayed with me and drove me to do something about it. I understood that the headline problem of women retiring with 58% as much super as men still hasn’t changed and it’s ludicrous to expect that it will, if any of the inputs don’t change.
STRUCTURAL CHANGE
Can Australia’s Superannuation system be restructured to better support women?
The superannuation system was not designed for women, who represent 51% of the population. Of the 6.7 million women in Australia aged 18-64, 40% are not in the workforce, and 36% work part-time or casually.
Asking them to top up a system-designed deficit when they have access to no income is ridiculous. Equally, there are 2.7 million unpaid carers in Australia – of which 1.8 million are women. They are responsible for raising children, looking after the elderly and caring for the sick.
The super system wasn’t designed for them and this is why we’re at a real tipping point; where 40% of single women – roughly 1 in 6 – retires into poverty.
POWER YOUR SUPER
How does Super-Rewards boost women’s retirement savings?
There are seven million women in Australia who could benefit from Super-Rewards. Women retire with only enough for 6 years of retirement but live another 14 years after that. The super system was simply not designed for them, or for women.
But Super-Rewards is. Our mission is to close the super gap. Super-Rewards is an online shopping platform where you earn cash rewards into super. The platform brands are Australia’s leading retailers – THE ICONIC, PetBarn, Booktopia, BWS, Country Road and others.
Super-Rewards is compatible with your existing super fund or SMSF. It’s free to join and there are no upfront charges. There’s no change in behaviour required, as women are buying groceries, purchasing whitegoods, booking holidays anyway.
SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR
How did your corporate and entrepreneurial skills influence Super-Rewards approach?
My corporate marketing experience gave me multi-channel marketing experience; talking directly to consumers, to financial intermediaries, to the capital markets and shareholders. My entrepreneurial experience taught me how to work out what the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is, and how to achieve it.
Note: All figures used in this interview are pre-COVID.
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