10 super funds still accounting for 60% of early release payments

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has confirmed that 10 superannuation funds are still doing the bulk of the heavy lifting when it comes to the Federal Government’s hardship early superannuation scheme. 

The latest APRA found that the 10 funds with the highest number of applications received from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) had made 1.33 million payments worth a total of $9.76 billion with the average payment from these funds being $7,441. 

According to the data, the 10 funds are accounting for well over 60% of the early release payments. 

Over the week to 7 June, 2020, the data pointed to superannuation funds making paying to 1667,000 members, bringing the total number of payments made to approximately two million since inception. 

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“The total value of payments during the week was $1.3 billion, with $14.8 billion paid since inception,” it said. “The average payment made over the period since inception is $7,475.” 

The 10 funds continue to reflect both their scale and their exposure to hard-pressed sectors of the industry and include AustralianSuper, AMP Limited, Cbus, Hostplus, REST, Suncorp, HESTA, MLC, CFS and ANZ. 

A number of superannuation fund chief executives have told Money Management that they are surprised by the continuing high levels of use of the early access arrangements.