Early release tops $34bn

The latest APRA statistics revealed that funds had paid out around $34.1 billion from the inception of the early release scheme until 4 October.

According to the data, 31,000 payment applications were received from fund members in the week to 4 October, of which 19,000 were initial applications and 12,000 were repeat applications.

Approximately 4.5 million total applications were received by super funds since the inception of the scheme, with 3.2 million of these being initial applications and 1.3 million repeat applications.

The total value of payments made by funds in the week to 4 October was $241 million, indicating a further slowing down in the volume of payments being made to consumers in financial difficulty.