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 Federal Court has ordered AustralianSuper to pay $27 million for failures to address multiple member accounts.
The country’s fourth-largest fund is targeting the “missing middle” of members with a new digital advice service in partnership with Ignition Advice.
The prudential regulator confirmed it is considering BUSSQ’s Federal Court appeal.
The Albanese government has put forward a bold proposal to tackle the challenges of Australia’s swelling retirement pool, in an effort to allow superannuation funds to play a more active role in shaping members’ retirement outcomes.