The industry fund for the people who care
Preparing for retirement can be daunting – there are lots of decisions to be made and many things to organise. We want to take the stress out of your retirement!
One of the first things you need to be considering if 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:
Generally, you can only access preserved amounts on retirement after reaching your preservation age or if you meet another condition of release. You can visit our Help Centre to learn more about the rules for accessing your super. Reaching preservation age is a condition of release if you withdraw your super in the form of a special pension.
Once you reach your preservation age you can draw on your preserved super without having to retire permanently from the workforce by starting a special type of super pension. For example, you could continue working part-time and use part of your super to supplement your income, instead of leaving the workforce altogether.
This is what’s known as a Transition To Retirement (TTR) pension.
With a TTR Pension, you can draw upon your super as a pension (within minimum and maximum limits) for your living expenses, while continuing to accumulate super savings by contributing from your wage from your part time employment to your super account (including through salary sacrifice contributions). This may have many tax advantages; for example, it can reduce your current and future personal tax burden.
In addition, once you start a TTR pension, the income your pension account earns is not subject to the 15% tax rate that applies to investment earnings on accumulation accounts (your standard super account).
Although our TTR Pension offers you flexibility so you can enjoy work for a longer period while supplementing your income from your super, it’s important to understand that TTR pensions are subject to restrictions. You can’t make a partial or full cash withdrawal from the pension (referred to as “non-commutable” except in limited circumstances) and your pension payments will only last until your pension account balance runs out.
In the Pension Guide, you can find out more about the conditions and the benefits before deciding whether to acquire a TTR Pension.
If you want to retire after reaching your preservation age, you can withdraw part, or all of your super as a lump sum or to start a super pension.
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 ABN 37 096 452 318, AFSL 240019 trading as Health Super Financial Planning (HSFP) is wholly owned by the FSS Trustee Corporation ABN 11 118 202 672 AFSL 293340 Trustee of the First State Superannuation Scheme ABN 53 226 460 365.
The Trustee pays HSFP half of the annual 1% account-keeping fee collected on all Health Super Account Based Pensions. The Trustee also pays a variable monthly amount (calculated on a cost recovery basis) to HSFP to conduct member seminar programs. The Trustee is not a representative of HSFP and receives no commissions when making referrals to this service. To obtain further information about the services provided by HSFP, contact HSFP direct by telephoning 1300 780 223. Alternatively, visit HSFP’s website at hsfp.com.au