|
When can you access your super?
| Your date of birth |
Preservation age |
| Before July 1960 |
55 |
| July 1960 – June 1961 |
56 |
| July 1961 – June 1962 |
57 |
| July 1962 – June 1963 |
58 |
| July 1963 – June 1964 |
59 |
| After June 1964 |
60 |
In most cases, Federal Government laws require your super to be “preserved”. This means when you can access your super.
Generally, you can’t access your super until you have reached your preservation age, which is based on your date of birth.
However, changes to superannuation rules over the years means some older superannuation payments may have been categorised differently, meaning withdrawal rules for some of your super may differ. These rules are detailed in the table further below.
Any ‘preserved’ amounts in your super account cannot be accessed until you meet one of the following conditions:
- Between age 55 and 60, and you have ceased all gainful employment, and have retired permanently from the workforce.
- Over age 60 but less than 65, and you cease employment with at least one employer.
- Over age 65, then you can access all benefits in your account, irrespective of your employment status.
Table showing how contributions are categorised:
| Category |
Accessibility/Withdrawal |
Types of Payments/Contributions |
| Preserved |
Preserved money cannot be withdrawn until the member meets a valid condition of release or in special circumstances such as:
- Disablement;
- Compassionate Grounds;
- Financial Hardship.
|
Preserved benefits include:
- Mandated employer contrbutions made prior to 1 July 1999;
- All employer contributions made for you after 1 July 1999;
- All personal contributions made after 1 July 1999;
- Government's co-contributions;
- Preserved amounts rolled over from another fund;
- Employer termination Payments rolled into Tasplan after 1 July 2004, e.g. Golden handshakes.
|
Restricted
Non-preserved |
Restricted non-preserved money can be withdrawn:
- When you cease employment with all your Tasplan registered employers;
- At retirement, on or after preservation age;
- After you reach 65 years of age, irrespective of your employment status.
|
These benefits include:
- Pre 1 July 1999 undeducted contributions. (i.e. member contributions for which a tax deduction was not claimed);
- Certain pre 1 July 1999 voluntary employer contributions, in excess of compulsory contributions;
- Restricted non-preserved benefits transferred from another fund.
|
Unrestricted
Non-preserved |
Unrestricted non-preserved money is available to be withdrawn at any time. |
These benefits arise when a person chooses not to cash out a preserved or restricted non-preserved benefit when they are able to do so. These benefits include unrestricted non-preserved benefits rolled in from another fund. |
Withdrawing your super before retirement?
There are some circumstances where you can access your super early:
Your benefit is less than $200 and you are unemployed
If your benefit is under $200, and you are unemployed, or you are working less than 10 hours per week, you can apply to withdraw your benefit.
Disablement
If you are permanently disabled, your accumulated benefit, plus any insurance amount you may be entitled to, can be paid.
Financial hardship & compassionate grounds
If you meet Government criteria and receive approval for the release of your super on compassionate grounds, or due to severe financial hardship, it may be possible to claim at least some of your super.
There are strict rules about accessing your super under these conditions, so please contact us for further information.
Temporary Residents
Eligible temporary residents who work in Australia, and have superannuation contributions paid by their employer, are entitled to receive their superannuation benefits once they permanently leave Australia. See the ATO website for more information.
Transition to Retirement
Members who have reached their preservation age can transfer their super benefits to an income stream product, regardless of their employment status (retired, part-time, full-time). This income stream must be non-commutable, which means it cannot be taken as a lump sum.
This enables older people to work part-time while using part of their super to supplement their income.
If you have any questions about accessing your super, please contact us on 1800 005 166.
| 
