Conditions of release of super
You can withdraw your super when you:
- turn 65 (even if you haven’t retired)
- reach preservation age and
- retire or
- start a transition to retirement income stream while continuing to work
- satisfy an early access requirement.
Retirement means you have ceased gainful employment either:
- when you were 60 years old or over
- before you turned 60 years old and you have reached your preservation age – the fund trustee must be satisfied you have no intention of becoming employed again in the future.
See Retirement withdrawal – lump sum or income stream.
Preservation age
Your preservation age is the age at which you can access your super if you're retired (or start a transition to a retirement income stream).
(Your preservation age is not the same as your pension age. Check with Services AustraliaExternal Link for the age pension eligibility requirements.)
Your preservation age depends on when you were born, as set out in this table.
Date of birth |
Preservation age |
|---|---|
Before 1 July 1960 |
55 |
1 July 1960 – 30 June 1961 |
56 |
1 July 1961 – 30 June 1962 |
57 |
1 July 1962 – 30 June 1963 |
58 |
1 July 1963 – 30 June 1964 |
59 |
From 1 July 1964 |
60 |
Accessing your super early
In very limited circumstances, you can access your super early:
- on medical, compassionate, hardship and incapacity grounds
- under the First home super saver scheme – to withdraw voluntary contributions you've made to your super
- if you're a temporary resident and are leaving Australia
- if your super account balance is less than $200 and your employment is terminated, or you have a 'lost super' account with a balance less than $200.
Super death benefits
When a person dies, in most cases their super fund pays their remaining super interest to their nominated beneficiary.
Super paid after a person's death is called a super death benefit.
Illegal early access schemes
It is illegal to withdraw your super for any reason other than when it is allowed by the superannuation law – that is, when you satisfy a condition of release.
Beware of people promoting early-access schemes. Participating in illegal early-access schemes will cost you a lot more than the super you withdraw.
The conditions of release that must be satisfied for legal superannuation withdrawals.