A parliamentary committee has been given some insight into the variability of how both the Australian Taxation Office and superannuation funds are handling the Government’s hardship early release superannuation scheme.
Answering questions from the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, major industry fund LUCRF has pointed out that, on occasion, the ATO has been responsible for reversing early release arrangements.
The fund pointed to the fact that there were at least nine occasions on which the ATO had approved early release applications only to later revoke them.
Pointing out that LUCRF was not involved in the process of approving early release application requests, the fund said that as at 28 April 2020, LUCRF had been advised by the ATO that it had revoked nine applications that they had previously approved.
LUCRF pointed out that, as well, 44 applications were unable to be processed by the ATO due to the member either closing their account prior to receipt of the ATO request or the member requesting the cancellation of the ATO application.
Vanguard Super has reported strong returns across most of its investment options, attributed to a “low-cost, index-based approach”.
The fund has achieved double-digit returns amid market volatility, reinforcing the value of long-term investment strategies for its members.
Australian super funds notched a third consecutive year of strong returns, with the median balanced option delivering an estimated 10.1 per cent over the 2024-25 financial year, but an economist has warned that the rally may be harder to sustain as key risks gather pace.
AustralianSuper has reported a 9.52 per cent return for its Balanced super option for the 2024–25 financial year, as markets delivered another year of strong performance despite the complex investing environment.