Retirement can sneak up on you unexpectedly, so it’s important to plan ahead. Your retirement years should be an exciting time – you’ve worked hard for so long and now is your chance to sit back and enjoy the next stage of your life.

Whilst you’re working you become accustomed to a style of living based on your income. But, when you retire, your earning capacity is limited to how well you planned in the lead up to your retirement.

Preparing for retirement can be daunting – there are lots of decisions to be made and many things to organise.

The most important decision for you to make is what sort of retirement income/pension do you want to have, and what are you eligible for?

How do you access your super?

One of the first things you need to consider when approaching retirement is how to access your super. There are special rules that apply to accessing your super.

Usually your super will consist of one or more of the following preservation components:

• preserved amount
• restricted non-preserved amount
• unrestricted non-preserved amount

You can visit our Help Centre to learn more about the rules for accessing your super. You can access your super when you retire after reaching your preservation age, as a lump sum or pension.

Will your money last as long as you need it to?

After retiring, you can turn your super into regular income payments. The most common way to do this is to convert your super into a pension.

Our Account Based Pension is aimed at those who have permanently retired, enabling you to:

• choose the amount of income you receive each year (subject to the minimum)
• vary your payments (subject to the minimum) to suit your lifestyle
• make withdrawals at any time.

This pension will continue until the money in your account runs out. Obviously that will depend on many factors, including the amount of your pension payments, frequency of payments, the investment option you choose (and its investment performance), and any additional withdrawals you make as well as fees and costs.

What are the benefits of a Health Super Pension?

1. Can be tax effective – if you’re 60 or over, pension payments are tax free. If you’re under 60, part of your pension payment may be tax free and the rest may qualify for a 15% tax offset.
2. Access to quality financial planning advice – when you invest in a Pension you’re automatically entitled to receive an annual review of your financial situation by Health Super Financial Planning.
3. A range of investment options – you can choose from one of nine investment options and make up to 12 investment switches per year for free.
4. You can choose the frequency of your pension payments and when you want to receive them e.g. fortnightly, monthly or yearly.
5. Flexibility to vary your pension payment amounts (subject to a minimum) at anytime to suit your needs.
6. Lump sum withdrawal – you can access your money at any time with an Account Based Pension.

What is the difference between a Health Super Pension and the Government Pension?

The Federal Government provides an Age Pension for those people who have reached retirement age. Your eligibility for this pension and the amount you’ll receive is determined by your age, any other income as well as the value of your assets, including your super.

Whereas, an account based pension (previously called an allocated pension) is one of a number of products that you can start with your own money from a super fund to give you income during retirement. An account based pension is offered by the trustee of the super fund (not the Government).

Need help?

If you haven’t already sought professional advice in the lead up to your retirement, now would be a good time. A financial planner can provide you with personal advice on the retirement product best suited to your needs, your tax considerations and eligibility for government benefits.

Health Super Financial Planning can provide you with access to a qualified financial planner at a reduced rate. To start your retirement planning and to consider your future years call Health Super Financial Planning on 1300 780 223.

Health Super Financial Services Pty Ltd (trading as Health Super Financial Planning) ABN 37 096 452 318, AFSL No. 240019 is a wholly owned subsidiary of Health Super Pty Ltd (the Trustee of Health Super). Health Super Pty Ltd pays Health Super Financial Planning (HSFP) half of the annual 1% account keeping fee charged for Health Super’s Pension products. Health Super Pty Ltd also pays a variable monthly amount to HSFP to conduct member seminars. Health Super is not a representative of HSFP and receives no commission when making a referral to this service.