How to turn your savings into income



Despite what you may have heard you don't need hundreds of thousands of dollars for a retirement pension to improve your quality of life
You've spent years saving your super. Now what?
Whether you’re retired or still working, you can set up a Super Pension so you can use your super for regular payments. You can choose how often you want to receive payments while the remaining balance is invested in your chosen option.
The preservation age is the age at which you can access your super either as a regular pension payment or by withdrawing a lump sum. This age has gradually been rising to 60 and is based on when you were born:
- If you were born on or after 1 July 1964, your preservation age is 60 years
- If you were born before 1 July 1964 you have already reached your preservation age
Even if you have reached your preservation age but are under age 65, you must meet another condition of release to access your super either as a pension or as a lump sum withdrawal.
Once you're age 65, you can access your super regardless of your employment status and you don't have to meet any other condition of release.
What is a Super Pension?
A Super Pension account is an alternative option to access your super as regular payments instead of withdrawing lump sums from your super account. At TWUSUPER we call this a 'TransPension' account.
Choosing to open a Super Pension depends on your unique circumstances and aims.
Why start a Super Pension?
It could make sense to convert your super into a Super Pension if:
- You're still working but want to use some of your super to pay yourself an income to supplement reduced working hours
- You'd like to set up a Transition to Retirement strategy
- You've retired and would like to receive payments to top up the Government Age Pension
Benefits of a Super Pension
It's worth seeing what a Super Pension could do for you - even if you plan to keep working for a little while yet.
Benefits include:
- Receive a regular income from your super balance
- Tax free pension payments (if age 60 and over)
- Tax free investment earnings (if eligible)
You could still receive Centrelink payments
Your eligibility for the Centrelink payments (including the Government Age Pension) depends on a number of factors including the value of the assets you own and your income. Lots of people draw an income from a Super Pension while still qualifying for a full or part Government Age Pension.
We recommend you speak to one of our retirement specialists using the form below if you have general queries around Centrelink and the Super Pension.
Making a decision
Things you need to think about before opening a Super Pension include its potential impact on Centrelink payments and that investment earnings vary depending on market performance. You can talk to us about Super Pensions by requesting a call back using the form at the bottom of this page.
You can also get more detail from the TransPension Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
Speak with a retirement specialist
Instead of sifting through information to find out what's relevant to you, ask to speak to a retirement specialist. The team's available between 9am and 5pm (AEST/AEDT) on 1800 222 071.
General advice on this website has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on the advice, consider its appropriateness. Refer to our Product Disclosure Statements (PDS). The PDS is relevant when deciding whether to acquire or hold a product. A Target Market Determination (TMD) is a document that outlines the target market a product has been designed for. Find the TMDs at twusuper.com.au/tmd