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COVID-19 and early access to super

The global spread of COVID-19 is affecting every one of us. At ESSSuper, we believe that the protection of our members and their financial security is of the utmost importance.

Members adversely impacted by COVID-19 may be eligible to access part of their superannuation early under the government’s early release of superannuation COVID-19 stimulus package. Eligible individuals can access up to $10,000 of their superannuation until 31 December 2020, even if they applied in 2019-20.

Before applying for the COVID-19 early release of super, it is important to check the eligibility criteria and ensure all records demonstrating your eligibility are kept.

ARE YOU ELIGIBLE?

To be eligible for early release of super, a citizen or permanent resident of Australia or New Zealand must be in one of the following circumstances:

You are unemployed; or
You are eligible to receive one of the following:
- JobSeeker payment;
- Youth allowance for JobSeekers (unless you are undertaking full-time study or are a new apprentice);
- Parenting payment (which includes the single and partnered payments);
- Special Benefit;
- Farm Household Allowance; or
On or after 1 January 2020 either:
- You were made redundant;
- Your working hours were reduced by 20% or more (including to zero);
- You were a sole trader and your business was suspended or there was a reduction in turnover of 20% or more.

Important Information

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) announced this week that they will be placing a greater focus on integrity and compliance with respect to the early release of superannuation eligibility requirements.

Demonstrating eligibility

Members will need to ensure they can demonstrate their eligibility criteria when the ATO asks for evidence, the ATO may retract any result issued for your application if you are unable to produce any evidence. This means any amount paid to you under the COVID-19 early release of super will:

Become assessable income

Need to be included in your tax return and you will pay tax on the released amount.

Providing false or misleading information could result in penalties of more than $12,000 for each false and misleading statement.

For more information on how the ATO will be verifying claims and examples of incorrect claims please click here.

What to do if you think you may have made an error in your application

If you believe you may have made an error with your application, the ATO advises that the best course of action is to discuss your concerns with a tax professional or call the ATO directly on 13 10 20.

HOW TO APPLY

Requests to withdraw funds under this early release measure were required to be received by 31 December 2020.

Important information

Withdrawing your super early will reduce your retirement savings and may impact insurance attached to your account. You can consult ASIC's MoneySmart website for more information and you should consider whether you need financial advice before completing an application.

Download our fact sheet on the impacts of early access to super (PDF 1.6MB).