Multiple accounts no impediment to early access says ATO

People with multiple superannuation accounts will be able to choose how much they take from each account up to the maximum $10,000 a year under arrangements confirmed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

The ATO has outlined to superannuation funds the new arrangements and how they will work, including the arrangement under which they will be able to take amounts from multiple accounts to reach their $10,000 limited.

“An individual can make one application in the 2019–20 financial year and one application in the 2020–21 year prior to 24 September 2020, when the measure ends,” the ATO explanation said.

“The application is accessed in one of two ways:

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The member authenticates themselves through myGov and is able to complete the application form in ATO Online.

For those who are unable to access online services, the individual will be able to call the ATO, confirm their identity and complete the application over the phone.

The application requires the person to certify that they are eligible and includes information about the consequences of making false applications. The individual then proceeds to:

• Review a list of open accounts they have and the last account balance reported for that account (in most cases that is 30 June 2019);
• Input the amount they would like to release from each account (there are no limitations on what the individual can input only that in total the amount can’t exceed $10,000);
• Input the bank account details (account name, BSB and number) they would like the money paid into; and
• Authorise the ATO to provide it to the super fund and that the super fund release the money into that account.

“It will take approximately one to two business days for the fund to receive notifications about their members. Funds can expect to start receiving notifications from Tuesday 21 April 2020,” the ATO explanation said.