Even if you’re still years off retirement, it’s good to have a broad understanding of what your options are when you enter retirement. Generally, you can access your super when you turn age 60 and retire, or slightly earlier if you were born before 1 July 1964 (in some circumstances, such as if you’re totally and permanently disabled, have a life-threatening illness or going through financial hardship, you can access your super earlier). For more details see our When can I access my super? factsheet. If you’re under age 65, and have reached preservation age, you can also consider the pre-retirement pension strategy.

How a pension account works

When you retire, you can choose to take your super as a lump sum, or open an account-based pension (pension). A pension is a popular way for Australians to manage their retirement savings, because investing your super in a pension rather than taking it as a lump sum, or keeping it in super, can make your retirement savings go further. You can invest in the same assets, such as cash, shares or property, inside or outside a pension. The difference is that the government provides tax savings on investments inside a pension as an incentive to convert your super into a regular income stream to support you in retirement, rather than taking it as a lump sum. The lower tax rates mean the same investment in a pension will go further than if invested outside a pension.

Keeping control over your money

At Mine Super, our purpose is to deliver an exceptional retirement for members which achieves peace of mind along the way. Offering access to an income stream via an account-based pension is part of this commitment. Each year you can choose the amount you want to receive from your pension, subject to a minimum age-based amount, which is set by the government. Your payments will be paid into your bank account and you can choose how often you want to be paid; fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly.