Super payouts surge by 39.4%
Superannuation funds paid out $113.4 billion in 2020, with APRA data showing payments spiked with the early release scheme.
The latest round of quarterly superannuation statistics has revealed the retirement savings sector managed a total of $3.04 trillion in assets at the end of the 2020 year, a 2.2 per cent rise from 2019.
The rise occurred as financial markets recovered in the second half of the year, after funds copped the blow of the COVID-19 crisis.
Total SMSF assets had slipped by 0.1 of a percentage point in the 2020 year to $764.2 billion.
The dwindling payments from the early release scheme saw benefit payments drop to $21.3 billion in the December quarter, in contrast to $33.9 billion in the three months before.
But benefit payments for the 2020 year were $113.3 billion, a 39.4 per cent surge on the year before, including around $36 billion being withdrawn under the early release scheme.
Total contributions increased by 1.9 per cent during the year, although annual member contributions of $22.9 billion were 6.4 per cent lower than the previous year. Employer contributions had still increased by 4.1 per cent.
Net contributions as a result were positive for the quarter, at $8.3 billion, although they were 80.9 per cent lower compared to 2019, at $7.7 billion for the year.
Around $2 trillion was held in APRA-regulated funds, up by 3 per cent from the year before, while $812.2 billion resided in MySuper products, an increase of 1.3 per cent year on year.
Tony Zhang
Tony Zhang is a journalist at Accountants Daily, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the accounting sector.
Since joining the Momentum Media team in 2020, Tony has written for a range of its publications including Lawyers Weekly, Adviser Innovation, ifa and SMSF Adviser. He has been full-time on Accountants Daily since September 2021.
