Australia pension industry will face scrutiny if withdrawals can’t be paid
Australian pension funds unable to return part of their A$3 trillion savings to unemployed workers and to those in financial distress should expect to have their risk-management frameworks scrutinised by the regulator, a government official said.
Responding to concerns that some funds will face liquidity problems to give early access to super – as retirement savings are called – the minister in charge of the sector, Jane Hume, said such problems would be the fault of the funds.
“Those funds whose members are congregated in sectors hardest hit by the virus and particularly smaller funds, unless they have risk managed their investments for a crisis, they may find this period very uncomfortable,” Hume said in a video conference hosted by the Australian Financial Review on Monday.
As part of Australia’s fiscal stimulus package worth 10% of its gross domestic product, the government this month announced measures allowing workers to take up to A$20,000 out of their superannuation savings over the next two years in response to the coronavirus crisis.
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