Once you reach age 65, you can access your Super Benefit at any time whether you have retired or not. There are absolutely no restrictions to accessing your Super Benefit when over 65. Your Super Benefit can be accessed as either a Pension or Lump Sum withdrawal.
If you are over age 65, there is no restriction on how much super you can access, even if you are still working. Reaching age 65 is classified as a full superannuation condition of release, meaning you have full access to your super, which can be withdrawn as a lump sum or income stream.
You may be able to take your superannuation as a lump sum payment when you retire. This is usually tax-free from age 60.
Generally, if you are aged 60 or over and eligible to access your super in full, all lump sum withdrawals will be received tax-free. If you are under age 60, you may be required to pay lump sum withdrawal tax, depending on the amount you withdraw and your superannuation tax components.
Lump sum withdrawals
If you're aged 60 or over and withdraw a lump sum: You don't pay any tax when you withdraw from a taxed super fund. You may pay tax if you withdraw from an untaxed super fund, such as a public sector fund.
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.
Tax on withdrawals of taxable component
Your marginal tax rate or 32%, whichever is lower – unless the sum of the untaxed elements of all super lump sum benefits received under the super plan exceeds the untaxed plan cap. Amounts above the cap will be taxed at the top marginal rate.
Yes, provided you have reached the Age Pension age, you may be eligible for the Age Pension even if you have super savings.
Starting an income stream (super pension or annuity)
Investment earnings in super income streams are tax free, except in a transition-to-retirement pension where earnings are taxed at 15% until you retire or reach age 65. Read more about your super options on retirement.
The minimum amount that can be withdrawn is $1,000 and the maximum amount is $10,000. If your super balance is less than $1,000 you can withdraw up to your remaining balance after tax. You can only make one withdrawal in any 12-month period.
There is no superannuation preservation age loophole and penalties will apply for accessing super early.
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.
The Bottom Line. For some, a lump-sum pension payment makes sense. For others, having less to upfront capital is better. In either case, pension payments should be used responsibility with the mindset of having these resources support you throughout your retirement.
WILL ACCESSING MY SUPER AFFECT MY CENTRELINK PAYMENT? If you withdraw money from your super fund, you must tell Centrelink within 14 days. Money withdrawn from super is not treated as income for a person receiving a social security payment.
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.
Despite what many people (and under-educated advisers) think, superannuation investment earnings are not received tax-free just because you have reached age 60. In fact, your age has absolutely no bearing on the taxation of your super earnings.
For example, if you are under 65 years old, you can access between 4–10% of the balance of money in your super account each financial year. Once you have met a condition of release with a nil cashing restriction, you can access your super benefits in other ways and don't need a TRIS.
No tax is payable on Pension withdrawals after the age of 60, however some tax may be payable on Pension withdrawals made between preservation age and 59. This means that where you are turning 60 in a particular financial year it may be financially advantageous to defer Pension withdrawals until you are over 60.
Once you reach age 65, you can access your Super Benefit at any time whether you have retired or not. There are absolutely no restrictions to accessing your Super Benefit when over 65. Your Super Benefit can be accessed as either a Pension or Lump Sum withdrawal.
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.
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.
There are absolutely no restrictions to accessing your Super Benefit when aged between 60 and 64 after you are retired. There are two ways you can access your Super; either as a lump-sum payment or as a pension.
It is currently 66 years and 6 months, but this is increasing to 67 from 1 July 2023. The preservation age for all Australians is therefore much lower than the Age Pension eligibility age.