While Industry Super Australia (ISA) continues to argue that accessing early release superannuation under the Government’s new arrangements should be an avenue of last resort, other industry executives are looking for guidance on how the new regime will work.
According to Rice Warner chief executive, Andrew Boal, one of the key issues would be the actual administrative mechanism employed to access early release and the role that would be played the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
“I guess at least one question will be whether people receive Government money via the ATO which is then reimbursed by the superannuation funds in question, or whether the money is paid directly by the superannuation funds,” he said.
Superannuation executives suggested that the administrative burden of dealing with a significant number of requests could prove challenging, not withstanding the fact that early access to superannuation was already available for people suffering hardship.
Boal and other superannuation industry executives agreed that some funds were likely to be more affected than others, with those in the hospitality, clubs and travel industries likely to be most exposed given the numbers of workers who had already lost their jobs.
This came against the background of around 20,000 Qantas staff being affected alongside the shutdowns of both the National Rugby League and the Australian Football League together with more than 100,000 fulltime and casual jobs lost to the shutdown of restaurants and cafes.
BlackRock boss Larry Fink praised Australia’s superannuation system in his annual chairman’s letter.
The prudential regulator has announced it will publish new expenditure data of superannuation funds, providing details on expenses like advice, director remuneration, and payments to unions.
Affirming the UK’s growing attractiveness as an investment destination, a number of Australia’s largest investors recently joined the UK Foreign Secretary for an exclusive briefing in Canberra to discuss further opportunities for trade and growth.
The specialist superannuation law advisory practice is set to wind up, with managing partner Jonathan Steffanoni planning to bring a new offering to market.
I have not seen any comment on this but apart from the down turn in value of shares, meaning crystallisation of loss and a larger withdrawal by the member, is the Government, still taking a large early release tax from each member as they cash out?
The precise details of the early access mechanism are outlined in the Australian Govt fact sheet, which can be found at aus.gov.au. Stop being so lazy and do the research!
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