Industry funds link COVID-19 early release to financial abuse
Industry superannuation funds have sought to link the former Coalition Government’s COVID-19 superannuation early release regime to concerns around financial abuse.
The Super Members Council (SMC) has urged that the Government undertake a comprehensive assessment of the number of women who were coerced into accessing their superannuation during the COVID-19 early release scheme “and the detrimental impact this will have on their retirement”.
In a submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Service, the SMC said. “this information is critical to informing future policy decisions and avoiding unintentionally facilitating abusive behaviour”.
The SMC is also urging that superannuation funds have the ability to not pay a death benefit to a beneficiary if there is evidence of financial abuse.
It said that under existing laws, an abuser could receive a victim’s superannuation death benefit unless they are the direct cause of the person’s death noting that “this may be so even if the victim suffered systemic abuse by that abuse which indirectly contributed to the cause of the victim’s death”.
“SMC considers it a perverse outcome and an extension of that financial abuse that trustees are required by law to pay a superannuation death benefit to an abuser,” it said.
On the COVID-19 early release regime, the SMC said that although over three million people withdrew a combined $38 billion, the ERS scheme disproportionately impacted women.
“Women withdrew 21% of their starting super balances, while men withdrew 17%. Additionally, 14% of women accessed their entire super balance, compared to 12% of men,” it said.
“Prior to the introduction of the ERS, there were limited opportunities for abusive partners to access the superannuation of their partner/spouse. Due to there being no requirement that evidence be provided to prove the individual was eligible for the scheme, for the first-time women’s superannuation savings became a widespread target of coercive control,” the SMC said.
“During and after the COVID-19 ERS, SMC member funds reported an increase in cases of financial abuse. The fund member, usually female, contacted the fund to inform them that their superannuation was accessed during the early release scheme because of coercion or a domestic partner fraudulently accessing their superannuation using the member’s details.”
So now we’re using gender politics as a FUM retention tool for the unions? Utterly shameless. Misha Schubert has really taken SMC to new depths.
How did Singapore achieve a home ownership rate of 90 per cent? Can Australia learn anything from it? – ABC News
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-18/singapore-homeownership-sock-yong-phang-henry-george/104237980
The SMC is turning out to be a pariah organization. From labelling “dodgy advisers”, to lobbying for law that would “review every SoA” to now “women as victims of early access abuse.”
Schubert is not doing her non-profit paymasters any favours.
Quite incredible that the organisation which uses womens retirement savings to financially support union thugs like John Setka, is trying to stop women from accessing their money because their partners must be abusers!
Typical union/labor/industry super tactics – when the spotlight has them doing dodgy deeds (like CFMEU and industry super ‘fees’ that become donations to Labor pollies etc), they immediately create fictional dramas to try to sway the media attention away from them with Schubert & SMC’s transparent media-whoring.
Maybe if we try hard enough we can blame COVID-19 early release for the Kennedy assassination.
Industry Super Australia says Quick Look over there. Let’s make some noise.
If we make some noise then Industry Super can keep their Union bosses snouts burrowed deep in the trough $$$$
If we want to discuss financial abuse, maybe we should investigate the Fed Govt funded $5000 lump sum Domestic Violence Grant scheme. Fascinating. I know in one case the payment was used to buy the very latest Hamptons furniture suite.
And the Government expects these money hungry greedy fools to fill the Advice Gap.
I can see the Qualified Advisers in Australian Super ringing bells when a 30-year-old commits to a salary sacrifice arrangement over paying off home loan repayments.
“”During and after the COVID-19 ERS, SMC member funds reported an increase in cases of financial abuse. The fund member, usually female, contacted the fund to inform them that their superannuation was accessed during the early release scheme because of coercion or a domestic partner fraudulently accessing their superannuation using the member’s details.””
Misha – Prove it