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The Virgin Money super fund has announced it will stop charging management fees for members on maternity or paternity leave, and is calling on other super funds to do the same.
Matt Baxby, managing director of Virgin Money Australia, said of those on maternity leave, the industry as a whole is currently charging up to $30 million in fees each year. He said by freezing fees charged to mothers on maternity leave, the industry could boost the super funds payouts for working mothers by $800 million annually.
The Virgin Super Baby Break initiative will freeze all management costs for up to 12 months for each child while its members are on maternity or paternity leave. It is aimed at redressing the current situation whereby men have almost double the super of women, due largely to the fact that women leave work for a period of time to have children.
“Why should Australian women continue to pay fees while they are not earning a salary or making super contributions for the majority of their maternity leave?” Baxby asked. “It didn’t make sense to us.”
