Early release of Super for individuals affected by Covid-19
As you may be aware, recently the Australian Government announced that it is allowing individuals affected by Covid-19 to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation in 2019-20 and a further $10,000 in 2020-21. Members will only be able to apply for early release of their superannuation from mid-April 2020.
In these unprecedented times we appreciate that you will likely receive phone calls from clients on how they can access their Super. The below link is to the government Fact Sheet which may be a useful resource when speaking with clients: https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/Fact_sheet-Early_Access_to_Super_1.pdf
How to apply
If your clients are eligible for early release under the new conditions, they can apply directly to the ATO through the MyGov website: www.my.gov.au. They will need to certify that they meet the eligibility criteria.
Please note members are not able to apply through AMG Super directly.
Eligibility
To apply for early release an individual must satisfy any one or more of the following requirements:
- they are unemployed; or
- they are eligible to receive a job seeker payment, youth allowance for jobseekers, parenting payment (which includes the single and partnered payments), special benefit or farm household allowance; or
- on or after 1 January 2020
- they were made redundant; or
- their working hours were reduced by 20 per cent or more; or
- they are a sole trader and the business was suspended or there was a reduction in turnover of 20 per cent or more.
People accessing their superannuation will not need to pay tax on amounts released and the money they withdraw will not affect Centrelink or Veterans’ Affairs payments.
|