Forget gym memberships: Companies pay staff to freeze their eggs

Organisations are offering their employees up to $60,000 in reproductive health benefits in order to retain staff.

Egg freezing rose by 50% during the pandemic, as young women look to prolong their fertility. 

Large organisations are offering workers up to $60,000 in benefits to support their conception journey, as experts push for Medicare to subsidise egg extractions and make them more affordable.

Spotify, Pinterest and Hubspot have identified that a growing movement of young women are freezing their eggs to prolong their fertility window, and in response are offering workplace benefits in the hopes of retaining staff and plugging critical workplace shortages.

Since January, Pinterest has offered all staff two IVF cycles and egg freezing, which chief people officer Christine Deputy said was to support staff in a personal capacity.

“We aim to empower our employees who make the decision to embark on the journey of parenthood when the timing is right for them,” she said. “We also realise that sadly many families struggle when it comes to making that dream a reality.”

Egg freezing rose by 50% throughout the pandemic, as people were unable to go out to meet a partner, and had more money to spend on the procedure. 

Fertility specialist Lynn Burmeister told The Oz she was seeing clients are young as 25 spending up to $10,000 on egg extractions, to prolong the period in which they could get pregnant. Freezing is not subsidised by Medicare, but IVF is partially covered.

“It’s considered elective surgery,” Dr Burmeister said. 

“Especially for those who are 25, or those who are young, it would be great if it was more affordable.” 

Spotify offers three cycles of IVF to employees and partners of employees, which could cost up to $60,000 in Australia.

“We often find a lot of people joining us, perhaps even at lower offers than other companies that are giving them because … we have a much richer total compensation package if you convert how much parental leave costs, and how much IVF costs,” Head of HR JAPAC Michael Kim said.

“So is it winning the war for talent for younger generations? Absolutely. But I think we’re also attracting that Gen Z crowd because of our values and culture.”

CMS platform HubSpot offers a benefit to female workers aged 32 years or older who wish to freeze their eggs but will not publicly reveal how much the benefit is worth.

APAC marketing director Kat Warboys believes as talent becomes increasingly scarce, more creative employee benefits are needed for companies to remain competitive.

“Gym memberships and free lunches are certainly a ‘nice to have’ but, to get the best out of your team, they need to feel truly supported in both a personal and professional capacity," she said.

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