Many people start using their super savings as soon as they retire and can access their super, but you don't have to. If you have other income sources or savings to live on, you could leave your savings in your super account. This means your money stays invested and could continue to benefit from investment returns.
When you retire you could withdraw your super as a cash payment from your super account. You can open an account-based pension and set-up regular income payments. You can also withdraw smaller cash payments from your super account or account-based pension. The choice is yours.
Can I Still Contribute To Super If I Am Not Working? Despite not working, you still have the ability to contribute to super. Contributions can be made as a personal concessional contribution or personal non-concessional contribution.
You may withdraw a lump sum from super at retirement of any amount up to your total balance. A lump sum payment can be useful if you need to repay debts, or you have some large expenses such as making home renovations or purchasing a vehicle.
As a general rule, most people will need 70% of their take home pay to maintain their lifestyle in retirement.
Can I access super at 65 and keep working? Yes. You can access your super when you turn 65 regardless of whether you're still working. You can also make certain types of super contributions up until you turn 75, even if you're retired and drawing a super pension.
Understand how much you can contribute
There are limits on how much you can pay into your super fund each financial year without having to pay extra tax. These limits are called 'contribution caps'. You can contribute up to $110,000 each year in non-concessional contributions.
If you have reached the eligible age, you may be able to contribute up to $300,000 from the proceeds of the sale (or part sale) of your home into your superannuation fund. The eligible age is as follows: From 1 January 2023, 55 years old or older.
You typically pay 15% tax on your super contributions, and your withdrawals are tax-free if you're 60 or older. The investment earnings on your super are also only taxed at 15%.
Accessing your superannuation fund
You can continue to receive your super pension after you return to work, and from 65, you can access your super whether you are retired or not. When going back to work, you can continue to receive an income from an account-based pension - if that is what you choose.
A lump sum withdrawal is a cash payment from your super to your bank account. You can request to withdraw a lump sum if you've met certain conditions set by the Government.
You can contribute to your super at any time up to age 74, even if you're not working. If you want to claim a tax deduction for your personal contributions you'll need to meet the work test, or work test exemption rules.
Pension payments are tax-free after age 60: Any super benefits, either pension or lump sum, paid to you after age 60 are tax-free.
Assume, for example, you will need 65 per cent of your pre-retirement income, so if you earn $50,000 now, you might need $32,500 in retirement.
Super guarantee (SG) increase
From 1 July 2023, the super guarantee increases from 10.5% to 11%. Further increases of 0.5% are scheduled each financial year until 2025 when the rate reaches 12%.
Should I have my super in Cash? The Cash option has a very low risk level when measured over the short term. However, if you intend to stay invested in this option for a longer timeframe, you should consider whether the current low returns will be enough for your situation.
Yes, you can put an inheritance into superannuation. However, there are limits on how much of the inheritance you can put into superannuation. You also need to consider the type of contribution that should be made to super.
How Much Can I Put into Super in a Lump Sum 2023? You can put a lump sum of at least $110,000 into superannuation, which is the general non-concessional contribution cap. However, you can often put in much more using the concessional contribution cap, bring-forward rule and carry-forward rule.
From 1 July 2017, if your total super balance is below the general transfer balance cap ($1.6 million from 2017–18 to 2020–21; $1.7 million from 2021–22) at 30 June of the previous financial year, you will be eligible for the annual non-concessional contributions cap ($100,000 from 2017–18 to 2020–21; $110,000 from ...
If you want full access to your super balance when you reach 60, you will need to fulfill one more condition; an employment arrangement coming to an end. You can then access the money as an account-based pension income stream, a lump sum withdrawal, or a combination of both.
This obviously depends on what annual income you want to fund but if you want to be able to afford a comfortable retirement—which is an income of just over $48,000 a year for a single according to the ASFA Retirement Standard—then you need a balance of at least $500,000.
Making personal concessional (deductible) contributions to superannuation can effectively reduce capital gains tax within your individual name, because you receive a personal tax deduction for making personal concessional contributions to super, which reduces your assessable income and can also reduce your marginal tax ...