If you are aged 60 years old and not yet ready to retire, you could access some of your super while you're still working by opening a Transition to Retirement (TTR) Income account.
What if I am not retired? If you are still working you can only access your Super via a Transition to Retirement Strategy (TTR). A TTR strategy allows you to access your Super by putting some of your Super into an account based pension.
If you are aged between 60 and 64 your Super Benefit is preserved until your "Retirement". There are absolutely no restrictions to accessing your Super Benefit when aged between 60 and 64 after you are "Retired". In this case your Super Benefit can be accessed as either a Pension or Lump Sum withdrawal.
You can access your super when you: reach your preservation age and retire. reach your preservation age and choose to begin a transition to retirement income stream while you are still working.
On the other hand, if you wait until you are age 60, your withdrawal will be tax free if it is paid from a taxed fund and will attract lower tax rates if it is paid from an untaxed fund. No tax is payable on the tax-free component of your super, regardless of your age when you make a withdrawal.
If you are aged 60 or over any withdrawals from a taxed accumulation super fund are generally tax-free. Speak to a financial adviser to find out the best way to take your super since taking all of your super on retirement as a lump sum may not be a good idea.
Superannuation Guarantee (SG)
If you are aged over 60, your employer must still pay SG contributions on your behalf into your super account. The SG contribution rate is currently legislated to rise incrementally to 12% in July 2025. Learn about SG contribution rates.
Yes, you can return to work after retirement. It is possible that your intentions or circumstances have changed and you have decided that you would prefer to return to work, even if you have already accessed your superannuation or are receiving Age Pension payments.
A super income stream is when you withdraw your money as small regular payments over a long period of time. If you're aged 60 or over, this income is usually tax-free. If you're under 60, you may pay tax on your super income stream.
If you withdraw money from your super fund, you must tell Centrelink within 14 days.
It's all about your age. If you were born before 1 July 1960 you can get access to your super when you turn 55. If you were born later the age varies between 55 and 60. People aged 65 or over can access super and work as well.
Assume, for example, you will need 65 per cent of your pre-retirement income, so if you earn $50,000 now, you might need $32,500 in retirement.
If you are between 60 and 65 you are only required to cease an employment arrangement to meet the retirement condition of release. If you are between preservation age and age 60, in addition to ceasing employment, at that time you must not intend to return to work for over 10 hours per week.
Tax on withdrawals of taxable component
Your marginal tax rate or 32%, whichever is lower – unless the sum of the untaxed elements of all super lump sum benefits received under the super plan exceeds the untaxed plan cap. Amounts above the cap will be taxed at the top marginal rate.
Early access undermines the long-term performance of all super. One of the biggest long-term risks with this policy is that it starts to treat superannuation accounts like regular bank accounts, even if they are only drawn upon when there's an economic crisis.
You can only make one withdrawal in any 12-month period. The super you withdraw is paid and taxed as a lump sum. The tax rate will depend on various factors such as your age. You will need to contact your super fund to request access and provide the appropriate evidence.
However, there are some disadvantages to consider when deciding whether or not a Transition to Retirement pension suits you. These include the inability to pay out large lump sums from your account and the possibility that changes in taxation law could affect withdrawals.
In such an instance, there is no restriction on how much of your super you can access. However, you should be mindful of any lump sum withdrawal tax, as explained below. There are some instances, depending on your employment history, where part of your super balance includes unrestricted non-preserved components.
According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia's Retirement Standard, to have a 'comfortable' retirement, single people will need $595,000 in retirement savings, and couples will need $690,000.
This obviously depends on what annual income you want to fund but if you want to be able to afford a comfortable retirement—which is an income of just over $48,000 a year for a single according to the ASFA Retirement Standard—then you need a balance of at least $500,000.