Australia’s pension assets fall for first time since 2009- regulator
Australia’s pension assets decreased for the first time in a decade in the financial year ending June 2020, as workers withdrew on their savings to weather the coronavirus crisis, the sector regulator said in a report on Friday.
Total assets in superannuation funds, as retirement funds are called in Australia, were A$2.9 trillion ($2.2 trillion) at June 30, down 0.41%, after growing every year since 2009 from A$1 billion, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) said.
Lump sum payments jumped 45% to A$70 billion, following a government decision to allow workers to access up to A$10,000 of their retirement savings during the fiscal year, under an emergency scheme to provide financial relief from the coronavirus crisis.
Investment losses also had an impact in the lower asset balance, the report showed, with the industry reporting an annual rate of return of minus 0.9%, the first loss since 2009, when pensioners returns fell to minus 12%.
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