Super fund chairs getting paid better, more often: survey

The proportion of super fund chairs being paid for their services rose dramatically in 2006, while their pay levels kept pace with corporate Australia, a survey of 97 funds has revealed.

Almost three quarters of trustee chairs were paid for their services last year, up dramatically on the previous year, according to the latest remuneration survey of superannuation fund executives and fund trustees by McGuirk Management Consultants. The percentage of trustee chairs now being paid for the role has risen from 58 per cent two years ago to 67 per cent last year and 75 per cent this year. Trustee remuneration has risen 7 per cent overall which is inline with public companies, according to Terry McGuirk of McGuirk Management Consultants. McGuirk established the survey in conjunction with the Fund Executives Association Limited (FEAL). There has been an 11 per cent increase in survey participants over the past 12 months with 97 funds responding split between corporate (35), industry (48) and public sector (14). The survey is for the 12 months to end February. The amount trustee directors and chairman are being paid is also fairly correlated to the size of the fund they work for. “The bigger you are the more you tend to pay,” McGuirk said. The median remuneration for a trustee director across the 97 funds was $36,000 with a range of between $8,000 to $50,000. Chairs of funds were paid between $10,000 to $100,000. “Some funds will not pay anything,” McGuirk said. At the superannuation fund executive level there have been some significant changes in the performance rewards particularly for senior investment staff. About half of superannuation funds’ chief executive officers have some kind of performance reward available to them compared to between one third to 40 per cent of fund investment staff. As much as 50 per cent of some chief investment officers’ remuneration package was reward-based last year, the survey revealed.