Super news for January 2020

This month we look at what support is available to Australians affected by the bushfires, changes to legislation allow high earners to opt out of some SG payments, warnings from the ATO and ASIC on early release of super schemes, the price of medications for pensioners has come down, FASEA’s ethics rules are now in place and APRA launches a new sustainability standard.

Financial relief for the bushfire-ravaged

A raft of financial recovery support is slowly becoming available as catastrophic bushfires continue to devastate communities across the country.

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has set up an online support hub at afca.org.au/bushfiresupport where families and small businesses impacted by the ongoing crisis can find relevant information and have their financial issues addressed quickly.

AMP is offering free financial assistance to anyone who has suffered major financial loss due to the fires, including rural fire brigades, and AMP disaster relief packages are available for clients. Call 13 30 30 or visit amp.com.au/disaster-relief for more information.

The Australian Tax Office has a list of impacted postcodes and will automatically grant deferrals for lodgements and payments due without residents from those areas needing to apply. Call the ATO Emergency Support Infoline on 1800 806 218 for more details.

AFCA’s Executive General Manager Rob Guest says that beyond problems relating to insurance and claims, many thousands will be facing financial hardship.

“Thousands of people have been affected, homes destroyed, people who can’t access their cash or who have lost their credit cards, or who can’t make loan repayments because they have no job to go to anymore, and small businesses will have been lost or are currently inoperable,” Mr Guest says.

“If you are having trouble with your insurer or financial provider about your claim or request for hardship assistance, you can talk to AFCA to get help.”

However, the Self-Managed Super Funds Alliance stresses that access to funds from superannuation accounts where members are not retired after preservation age, over 65, terminally ill, disabled or deceased will generally be unsuccessful.

Opting out of super guarantee

Workers with multiple employers can now apply to opt out of receiving the super guarantee from some of their employers.