From 1 July 2024, the rules for accessing superannuation became somewhat simplified: the preservation age when you can begin to access your benefits is now effectively age 60. However, until you reach age 65, there are still potential restrictions on how you can access your super. You’ll need to “retire” before you can make lump sum withdrawals from your super account or move it into the favourable “retirement phase” when investment earnings within the fund become tax-free. If you’re aged between 60 and 65 and wish to access some of your super, it’s a good time to re-examine the rules.

For anyone born after 30 June 1964, preservation age is age 60.If you are between 60 and 65 years old but haven’t yet retired, you can commence a transition to retirement income stream (TRIS). This allows you to receive a regular income of between 4% and 10% of your pension account balance each year. If you want to access more of your super, or withdraw it as a lump sum, you’ll need to satisfy a further condition of release. This includes reaching age 65, or “retirement”.

Meeting these conditions is also relevant for tax purposes. TRIS payments to a person aged 60 or over are generally tax-free – regardless of whether they are retired or not – but the TRIS itself does not move into the “retirement phase” until a further condition such as retirement (or reaching age 65) is met.

To satisfy the retirement condition, an arrangement under which you were gainfully employed must have come to an end. If you’d already reached age 60 when that position ended, there are no further requirements, and your future work intentions aren’t relevant.

If you hadn’t yet reached aged 60 when the position ended, the trustee of your fund must be reasonably satisfied that you intend never to again become gainfully employed, either on a full-time or a part-time basis. “Part-time” means working for at least 10 hours per week, so you could intend to work for less than 10 hours per week and still meet the “retirement” condition.

Any withdrawal strategy should be carefully planned to ensure you understand the implications of accessing your super. There are many factors to consider, such as the ongoing requirement to withdraw minimum pension amounts each year if you start a pension, implications for your transfer balance account, and interactions with the Age Pension referring to older advice or information (e.g. online) that is based on the TSB thresholds for 2023–2024.