If you were born in 1962 in Australia, you can access your super from age 57 or 58 (depending on your birth month) for a retirement benefit, but you must wait until age 67 to be eligible for the Australian Age Pension. Your super's 'preservation age' is 57 if born Jan-June 1962, and 58 if born July-Dec 1962; you can access it once you reach that age and meet a condition like retiring, says SuperGuide.
If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67 (En español)
The government has announced that the State Pension age (SPa) timetable will, for the time being, remain unchanged from the current legislated timetable: SPa will increase from 66 to 67 – between April 2026 and April 2028. SPa will increase from 67 to 68 – between April 2044 and April 2046.
Therefore, if you apply for your pension at age 60, you will receive a pension that is 30% to 36% lower than the pension you would have received at age 65 or later. Therefore, it is generally advantageous to apply for your pension at age 65 or even later.
You can submit your claim in the 13 weeks before you turn 67. If you already get an eligible payment from Services Australia, they may invite you to apply to transfer to Age Pension.
Claiming early applies an actuarial reduction to your PIA: a 5/9 of 1% cut for each of the first 36 months before full retirement age, and 5/12 of 1% for additional months. For someone whose full retirement age is 67, starting benefits at 62 is 60 months early. This translates to a 30% permanent reduction in benefits.
You can access your super: From age 60: If you're retired or leave a job. You can also open a Transition to Retirement account to access some of your super while you're still working.
Believe it or not, data from the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances indicates that only 9% of American households have managed to save $500,000 or more for their retirement. This means less than one in ten families have achieved this financial goal.
You can receive Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, we'll reduce your benefits if you start receiving them before your full retirement age. For example, if you turn age 62 in 2026, your benefit would be about 30% lower than it would be at your full retirement age of 67.
Age Pension age is 67 years or older. We use income and assets tests to work out how much Age Pension you get. There are several things to consider when you're preparing to claim Age Pension.
Rather than using specific dates for people born within a certain period, people born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961 will reach pension age when they are 66 and the specified number of months below.
Those born after 5 April 1961 will reach the new State Pension Age of 67 on their 67th birthday. Those born after 5 April 1977 will be impacted by the State Pension Age rise to 68. As always with investments, your capital is at risk.
Superannuation is designed to provide you with savings once you've retired from the workforce. And there are rules around when you access it. While you can retire at any age, you can generally get the money from your super once you turn 60. And if you're already over age 60, you may be able to access it now!
You can have significant assets, like savings in the bank, and still get the Age Pension in Australia, but it depends on if you own your home and your relationship status; for a homeowner, a single person can have up to $321,500 in assets for a full pension, while a couple can have $481,500, with higher limits for non-homeowners, before your payment starts reducing, according to Services Australia data from September 2025.
The top ten financial mistakes most people make after retirement are:
As a single person, a balance of around $360,000 would be enough for an income of about $52,000 per year (using a combination of super drawdown and Age Pension payments), which is close to what ASFA estimates is needed for comfortable retirement.
It is possible to retire early at age 55, but most people are not eligible for Social Security retirement benefits until they're 62, and typically people must wait until age 59 ½ to make penalty-free withdrawals from 401(k)s or other retirement accounts.
You Have the Chance to Enjoy it Longer
Compounding this is that the stress of work can actually contribute to health issues, so if you stop working sooner, you may remain healthier longer. No longer having to work means you have time to work on yourself!
Not Saving Enough
If there's one regret that rises above all others, it's this: not saving enough. In fact, a study from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies shows that 78% of retirees wish they had saved more.
Technically, yes – but there are significant factors to weigh before pursuing this route. While spending down your super may reduce your assessable assets and potentially increase the Age Pension you're eligible for, it's crucial to consider how this could impact your financial security and lifestyle in retirement.
You can usually only take money out of a workplace or personal pension once you're 55 or older (rising to 57 from April 2028). You can't start claiming your State Pension before you reach State Pension age. That's 66 right now, rising to 67 and then finally to 68 by 2028.
A monthly pension payment gives you a fixed amount every month over your whole life, so you don't have to worry about changes in the stock market. In contrast, a lump-sum payout can give you the flexibility of choosing where to invest or save your money, and when and how much to withdraw.