Super is a great way to save money for your retirement. It is generally taxed at a lower rate than your regular income. You typically pay 15% tax on your super contributions, and your withdrawals are tax-free if you're 60 or older. The investment earnings on your super are also only taxed at 15%.
Before you turn 60, pension payments are taxed at your marginal tax rate less a 15% tax offset. When you turn 60, your pension payments (or any lump sum withdrawals) are usually tax free.
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.
Pension payments are tax-free after age 60: Any super benefits, either pension or lump sum, paid to you after age 60 are tax-free.
There are absolutely no restrictions to accessing your Super Benefit when aged between 60 and 64 after you are retired. There are two ways you can access your Super; either as a lump-sum payment or as a pension.
You can access your super, without restrictions, even if you're still working. Rules for accessing your super: You can access your super as long as you've permanently retired. If you end an employment arrangement on or after age 60, you can also access the super you've earned up until then.
After-tax contributions are only taxed if you go over the non-concessional contributions cap. Extra taxes apply to any amounts over the cap, unless you withdraw them and 85% of the earnings attached to them. The non-concessional contributions cap is $110,000 from 1 July 2021.
Age 60 or over and ceasing employment
You can access your super if you're aged 60 and over and you stop working, even if you subsequently get another job with another employer. As mentioned earlier, super payments are generally tax free once you turn 60.
Do You Declare Superannuation on Your Tax Return? Super contributions do not need to be included as taxable income on your tax return and no tax will be paid by you personally on super contributions; however, there are instances where super contributions need to be included in your tax return for other reasons.
You may be able to take your superannuation as a lump sum payment when you retire. This is usually tax-free from age 60.
Can I access super at 65 and keep working? Yes. You can access your super when you turn 65 regardless of whether you're still working. You can also make certain types of super contributions up until you turn 75, even if you're retired and drawing a super pension.
If you withdraw money from your super fund, you must tell Centrelink within 14 days.
If you're 60 and over, the income will generally be tax-free. If you're between your preservation age and 59, the components of your super will dictate how it will be taxed.
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.
The ASFA Retirement Standard Explainer says a comfortable retirement lifestyle would need $640,000 in super for a couple, or $545,000 for a single person.
The minimum amount that can be withdrawn is $1,000 and the maximum amount is $10,000. If your super balance is less than $1,000 you can withdraw up to your remaining balance after tax. You can only make one withdrawal in any 12-month period.
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.
The only way to avoid paying super contributions tax is to make a non-concessional contribution instead of a concessional contribution. Sure, you don't get to claim a tax deduction for non-concessional contributions, but you won't need to pay contributions tax either.
Even if you have super, you may still qualify for at least a part age pension from the government. Even though Australians have had compulsory super since 1992, many may qualify for — and may need to rely on — an age pension to some degree in retirement.
Taking money out of superannuation doesn't affect payments from us. But what you do with the money may. For instance we'll count it in your income and assets tests if you either: use it to buy an income stream.
Once you reach age 65, you can access your Super Benefit at any time whether you have retired or not. There are absolutely no restrictions to accessing your Super Benefit when over 65. Your Super Benefit can be accessed as either a Pension or Lump Sum withdrawal.