Frustrated with the complexity of superannuation, three young Melburnians created a new category of super, with a fund focused exclusively on self-employed people.
Not to be confused with ‘self managed super’, GigSuper is a normal “public offer” super fund which is designed to help self-employed people get their super under control.
Martin Batur, Peter Stanhope, and Branka Injac Misic founded GigSuper on the simple idea that you shouldn’t need to be a finance expert to sort out your super when you’re self-employed.
“We’ve built a product that helps self-employed people get their super sorted in about 15 minutes using a simple, guided tour to automate all those things that are otherwise hard to do. Then they can stop worrying about super and get back to doing what they do best,” says Peter.
What is the motivation behind GigSuper?
With one third of the global workforce expected to be contractors by 2023 – and Australia following a similar trend – self-employed people should be empowered to take control of their super, rather than lump it in the ‘too hard basket’ and fall further and further behind with their retirement savings.
Built in collaboration with the self-employed community, GigSuper has replaced complex financial jargon with human everyday language. Firstly, it helps self-employed people automate making regular contributions and claiming tax deductions.
It also has a LifeStage investment option that gradually reduces exposure to riskier assets in the approach to retirement; as well as personalised Life, Total Permanent Disability, and Income Protection insurances specifically designed for self-employed people.
Two and a half years in the making, GigSuper launched in January 2020 and has already gained excited advocates.
“Why has it taken this long to have a friendly and personable super fund?” says Ami Williamson, a delighted GigSuper member.
“The platform is easy to use, the signup process was simple, it’s actually built for self-employed folks, but it’s the approachable feel of the GigSuper team that makes the difference!”
Hailing from finance, engineering, and customer experience backgrounds, the Melbourne trio behind GigSuper is keen to keep ‘doing things differently’ in the superannuation space.
“We’ve created a new category – which our members refer to as ‘self-employed super’ – and we’ve built an innovative product. Now we’re about to embark on an equity crowd fund” says Martin.
On March 11th GigSuper is opening up expressions of interest on Birchal, an Equity Crowd Funding platform that lets regular people invest directly in the brands they want to back.
“We’re a business co-created with our community, so it makes perfect sense to let the community own a piece of the business.”
