Demand for early release superannuation appears to have levelled off following the upsurge which accompanied the opening up of the Government’s second tranche on 1 July, but repeat applications are still significantly outstripping first time requests.
The latest data released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has revealed that over the week to 26 July, superannuation funds paid $1.4 billion, bringing to $29.4 billion the amount paid under the scheme since inception.
It said the average payment made over the period since inception was $7,705, but that this rose to $8,547 when repeat applications were viewed in isolation.
The APRA data said that in the week to 26 July, 140,000 applications were received by funds of which 59,000 were initial applications and 81,000 were repeat applications.
It said that since inception the total number of initial applications was 2.9 million and the total number of repeat applications was one million.
The profit-to-member super fund’s MySuper default option has returned 9.85 per cent for the financial year 2024–25.
Colonial First State (CFS) has announced solid double-digit returns for its MySuper balanced and growth equivalent funds during the financial year.
The super fund’s Future Saver High Growth option delivered an 11.9 per cent return for the financial year 2024–25, on the back of a diversified portfolio and actively managed investment strategy.
HESTA has delivered a 10.18 per cent return for its MySuper Balanced Growth option in the 2024–25 financial year, marking the third consecutive year of returns above 9 per cent for the $80 billion industry fund’s default investment strategy.