Super, when can you access it?

We all put super away for our retirement but when is that? When can you access it?
For legal superannuation withdrawals certain conditions of release must first be satisfied. Super can be withdrawn when you:

• Turn 65 (even if you haven’t retired)
• Satisfy an early access requirement
• Reach preservation age and

– Retire or

– Start a transition to retirement income stream while continuing to work

‘Retirement’ means you have stopped paid employment either:

• When you were 60 years old or over
• Before you turn 60 years old and you have reached your preservation age – your fund must be satisfied you have no intention of becoming employed again in the future.

You may be able to apply for Early Access to your super in very limited circumstances:

• on medical, compassionate, hardship and incapacity grounds
• under the First home super saver scheme – to withdraw voluntary contributions you’ve made to your super
• if you’re a temporary resident and are leaving Australia
• if your super account balance is less than $200 and your employment is terminated, or you have a ‘lost super’ account with a balance less than $200.

What is ‘preservation age’?

Your preservation age is not the same as your pension age. Your preservation age is the age at which you can access your super if you are retired (or start a transition to a retirement income stream). This is between 55 and 60, depending on when you were born. Or when you reach 65, even if you are still working

 

Date of birth	Preservation age
Before 1 July 1960	55
1 July 1960 – 30 June 1961	56
1 July 1961 – 30 June 1962	57
1 July 1962 – 30 June 1963	58
1 July 1963 – 30 June 1964	59
From 1 July 1964	60

 

If you happen to die, your super fund, in most cases, will pay your super to your nominated beneficiary.

It is illegal to withdraw your super for any other reason than when it is allowed by the superannuation law – that you satisfy a condition of release.

 

Author

Naomi Aspromourgos