Thousands of Tasmanians rush to grab millions from their superannuation

The state’s largest superannuation fund has revealed just how many Tasmanains have joined the rush to make early withdrawals from their accounts. See how much was taken out.

THOUSANDS of Tasmanians have rushed for a second grab at their superannuation in the past week, as the state’s biggest super fund says it paid out more than $24 million in one day.

Welfare providers say the number of Tasmanians taking up the Federal Government’s early access to super scheme is alarming and may ultimately put struggling households under greater financial stress.

When the second round of the scheme opened on Wednesday, Tasplan, which has more than 100,000 members in Tasmania, received 2700 applications for early access totalling $24.6 million.

Under the scheme, Australians facing financial hardship from the effects of COVID-19 were able to withdraw up to $10,000 from their superannuation between April 20 and June 30.

From July 1, people have been allowed to withdraw another $10,000 – until September 24.

During the first round, Tasplan – which has 128,000 members in total and received more than 14,000 applications for early withdrawals – released almost $115 million.

Thousands of Tasmanians have rushed for a second slice of their superannuation in the past week.

Tasplan chair Naomi Edwards urged Tasmanians to treat withdrawing from their super as a last resort, and warned that the long-term loss of interest would hit younger Tasmanians hardest when they retired.

“We understand that right now is an incredibly difficult time for many, but I would strongly urge Tasmanians to exhaust all options available to them before accessing their super,” Ms Edwards said.

“We recognise that for those significantly financially affected by COVID-19, accessing some of your super today may be an absolute necessity.”

THOUSANDS RUSH TO ACCESS ANOTHER $10,000 IN SUPER

Hobart City Mission chief executive John Stubley, a former accountant and superannuation expert, said the figure was worrying, but planning for retirement was not a realistic proposition for many.

“Super is a luxury that those living on struggle street can’t afford,” Mr Stubley said.

“In this environment I don’t see that they really have any choice.

“It would be silly to become destitute and homeless when you have $100,000 sitting in an account.”

Mr Stubley said he had heard of welfare support recipients who had withdrawn $10,000 in the first round and lost the lot through gambling, only to contemplate withdrawing a second $10,000.

“I would say that is not an uncommon situation,” Mr Stubley said.

Hobart City Mission CEO John Stubley. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

Hobart-based Upper House MP Meg Webb, who previously worked in the welfare sector, said withdrawing lump sums of money was a risk for people who had a problem with poker machines.

“We know that stimulus payments during the GFC resulted in spikes in pokies losses. That should ring warning bells for us now, with people accessing their super,” Ms Webb said.

Anglicare chief executive Chris Jones urged Tasmanians facing severe financial stress to seek help before withdrawing their super, by calling the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 to arrange a free face-to-face counselling session.

“There is a waiting list, but we can triage (urgent cases),” Dr Jones said.

A survey of 1258 Tasmanian residents by the University of Tasmania in June found that 6 per cent of respondents had withdrawn superannuation under the early access scheme.

Of those, 39 per cent were making mortgage payments, 31 per cent owned their home, 21 per cent were renting from a private landlord and 3 per cent from public housing.

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