POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Trustees take 1.6 days to pay early super release
Superannuation trustees have taken an average of 1.6 days to make early superannuation access payments to members financially suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data.
Data from the Australian Prudential and Regulation Authority (APRA), said for applications paid in the first week of the scheme, payments took 1.6 days was after receipt of members’ applications from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
However, APRA noted that given this was the first week of the early release initiative, trustees had no applications that were more than five business days old.
The data said for the week ending on 26 April, 167 trustees:
- Received 665,310 applications for early release;
- Processed 162,879 applications; and
- Paid members $1.3 billion. The average benefit paid was $8,002.
APRA deputy chair, Helen Rowell said: “Although this publication only covers the first week of a scheme that will run for several months, the initial data indicates trustees are moving quickly to make payments after receiving determinations from the ATO.
“Under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, trustees are legally required to make early release payments to eligible members ‘as soon as practicable’. We expect trustees should generally be able to achieve this within five business days, however we recognise this may not be practicable in all cases, as trustees conduct fraud checks, and fulfil their legal obligation to look out for the best interests of all fund members.
“APRA is closely monitoring trustee performance in this area and will consider taking appropriate action if evidence emerges of funds not releasing benefits to eligible members as soon as practicable.”
Recommended for you
The two funds have announced the signing of a non-binding MOU to explore a potential merger.
The board must shift its focus from managing inflation to stimulating the economy with the trimmed mean inflation figure edging closer to the 2.5 per cent target, economists have said.
ASIC chair Joe Longo says superannuation trustees must do more to protect members from misconduct and high-risk schemes.
Super fund mergers are rising, but poor planning during successor fund transfers has left members and employers exposed to serious risks.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
88.01 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
72.60 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
44.24 3 y p.a(%)
4
Pengana High Conviction Equities B
40.36 3 y p.a(%)
5
Pengana High Conviction Equities A
40.34 3 y p.a(%)
