New analysis shows 48,000 Territorians access super scheme

AN exclusive analysis for the NT News shows how many Territorians have raided their retirement funds during the coronavirus pandemic

• Cash-strapped Territorians top in nation for taking money from super

THOUSANDS of cash-strapped Territorians have completely raided their retirement funds during the coronavirus pandemic, new analysis has revealed.

About 48,000 Territorians, or one in every four NT workers, have taken an estimated combined $347 million out of their superfunds as part of the Federal Government’s early access scheme.

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Analysis by Industry Super Australia, prepared for the Sunday Territorian and based on official government data, found the NT had one of the highest rates of early super access in the country.

It’s estimated 6773 Territorians have emptied their superfund accounts, while 48,284 people had applied to draw up to $20,000 across two rounds.

This is far higher than data reported at the end of May, before the end of the first round of early access, when 26,700 Territorians had drawn a total of $216 million from their superfunds.

Me Bank’s latest Household Financial Comfort Report found young people aged 18-24 were most likely to withdraw from their superfunds, with fears this could leave a generation much poorer upon retirement.

But Grattan Institute economist Brendan Coates say the idea of a “lost generation” being created was not the whole picture, with the burden more likely to fall on the Commonwealth when that demographic hits retirement and needs to be supported with a higher pension.

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Nationally, Federal Treasury revised its estimate on how much money would be drawn from the super system from $29.5 billion to $41.9 billion in light of the high take-up of the early release scheme, the decision to extend it to the end of the year and the impact of Victoria’s second wave of COVID-19.

This represents about 1.5 per cent of the $2.7 trillion superannuation system, with more than 2.6 million Australians having taken up the program to help support themselves through the pandemic.

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