The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) has released new data on the temporary release of superannuation. Key highlights include:
- 1,080,000 applications have been received to released superannuation early of which 830,000 have been paid; and
- $6.3 billion has been paid to members with an average withdrawal per member of $7,629.
APRA has also released individual fund data showing that industry funds have dominated withdrawals, taking the top four places.
As shown in the next chart, these four industry super funds have accounted for just under half (44%) of total early release payments:
Alongside a similar proportion of total applications received (45%) and paid (46%):
Finally, the average payment to these four finds is roughly on par with the superannuation industry as whole:
The high rate of superannuation withdrawals from industry funds is unsurprising given areas like Accommodation & Food Services and Arts & Recreation have been hardest hit by job losses, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics:
Withdrawals are also set to rise, given the federal government yesterday resumed processing applications for early release after freezing the scheme on Friday over concerns about fraud:
Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar said the Australian Tax Office had identified a small number of third parties who could be susceptible to criminal activity and was working with them to improve security.
“Australians can have confidence in the security measures the ATO has in place to protect the integrity of the early release of superannuation scheme,” Mr Sukkar said in a statement on Monday.
