Pension member FAQs
Access to super
Q. When can I access my super?
A. You can access your super:
- when you reach your preservation age and retire
- when you are age 60 or over and have ceased an employment arrangement
- when you turn 65
- under the transition to retirement rules (if eligible) while continuing to work, or
- you have become permanently incapacitated at any age.
Temporary Residents: If you are a former temporary resident who has left Australia, you can apply to have your benefit paid out to you.
For more information, call us on 1300 362 415.
Q. What is my preservation age?
A. Your preservation age is the age you must reach before you can access your super, and depends on when you were born
Check the following table to see when you can access your super:
| 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 |
| After 30 June 1964 | 60 |
Q. Can I access my super before retirement?
A. There are limited circumstances in which you can access your super before you retire, these include:
- severe financial hardship
- certain compassionate grounds
- a terminal medical condition, or
- permanent or temporary incapacity.
For more information, call us on 1300 362 415.
Age Pension
Q. Am I eligible for the Government Age Pension?
A. If eligible, the Age Pension provides an income and access to a range of concessions in retirement. The Government makes a regular payment that can supplement your super and any other income you receive.
For the assets test, 100% of the amount of money you use to start your MTAA Super Pension or an MTAA Super TTR Pension is assessable.
New account-based pensions have new deeming rules for income test purposes from 1 January 2015, which assume your financial assets earn a certain amount of income, regardless how much they actually earn.
We have only provided general information about social security laws in this section. For more information, contact Centrelink. We also recommend you seek financial advice to find out how social security laws apply in your personal circumstances.
For more information, refer to the Department of Human Services website.
Q. How do I get my Centrelink Schedule?
A. You can request a copy of your Centrelink Schedule by logging into your account via ePension or by calling 1300 362 415.
Q. Do I need to inform Centrelink about my pension payments?
A. MTAA Super advise Centrelink of pension payments you receive on your behalf. Centrelink use this information to assist in calculating your Age Pension payments.
However you may need to inform Centrelink of any information they request from time to time.
Your pension options
Q. What pension options are available through MTAA Super?
A. We offer two types of pension accounts:
- MTAA Super Transition to Retirement (TTR) Pension - for members who are looking to transition into retirement, and
- MTAA Super Pension- for members who are fully retired or have met a condition of release.
Your personal circumstances will determine which of these accounts you are eligible for.
For more information, refer to the Pension Handbook by calling us on 1300 362 415.
Q. How do I open an MTAA Super Transition to Retirement (TTR) Pension or MTAA Super Pension account?
A. To open one of our pension accounts, you will need to complete the Pension Application Form.
You need to have a minimum of $10,000 in super to open a pension account, which can be made up of:
- the balance of your MTAA Super account
- rollovers from other super funds or pension accounts
- certain disablement amounts from a disability claim settlement, and
- the proceeds from the sale of a small business.
Please be aware that once you open a pension account, you can’t add money to it. Make sure you combine your super accounts before you start a pension.
We recommend that you seek professional advice from a licensed financial adviser about how to structure your pension arrangements, taking into account your personal circumstances.
For more information about our pension accounts, refer to the Pension Handbook or call us on 1300 362 415.
Pension payments and tax
Q. How much can I withdraw?
A. You can choose how much you’d like to receive as a pension each financial year. This amount needs to meet the minimum (and any maximum) amounts set by the Government.
The minimum pension is based on your age (as at 1 July each financial year) and how much you have in your pension account:
| Your age | Minimum annual % of pension account balance |
| Under 65 | 4 |
| 65-74 | 5 |
| 75-79 | 6 |
| 80-84 | 7 |
| 85-89 | 9 |
| 90-94 | 11 |
| 95+ | 14 |
If you have a TTR Pension, a maximum of 10% of your account balance per financial year also applies while in the pre-retirement phase.
We’ll let you know your minimum (and any applicable maximum) pension amounts each year.
For more information, refer to the Pension Handbook or call us on 1300 362 415.
Q. When are my payments made?
A. You can choose how often you would like to receive your pension: fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly.
If you receive your pension fortnightly, payments will be made every second Friday. Otherwise, payments are made on the 28th of the month in which the payment falls due. If the 28th day is a weekend or public holiday, you will be paid the preceding business day.
You’re required to receive at least one payment each financial year, but if you start your pension after 1 June in any financial year, you can start your pension payments in the next financial year.
For more information, refer to the Pension Handbook or call us on 1300 362 415.
Q. Can I make contributions to my pension account?
A. You can’t contribute to your pension account once it has commenced. To combine any additional contributions to your existing pension account balance you would need to open a new account.
It’s important to check that your Government entitlements (Note that Government changes to deeming rules could affect you if you choose to close your current account and open a new one. To find out whether your entitlements – including the age pension – could be reduced, we recommend speaking to an expert first. You can find help on our advice page.)
Q. How is my account taxed?
A. Generally, when you open a pension account, you will not pay tax on rollovers (unless the amount includes an untaxed element).
You may pay tax if you use money from outside the super system to open your pension.
Any investment earnings on your MTAA Super pension account are tax free in the retirement phase. Investment earnings are taxed at up to 15% for TTR pensions.
If you’re age 60 or over and have met a condition of release, you can withdraw your super tax free.
If you are under age 60, the tax you pay will depend on:
- your age at the time of withdrawal
- the tax components of your benefit
- whether we have your Tax File Number
- whether you are an Australian resident
- the circumstances under which your benefit is withdrawn (for example, concessions apply if you are disabled), and
- whether your benefit is paid as a lump sum or an income stream.
Tax payable on the taxed element of your lump sum benefit
| Your age | Component and tax treatment |
| 60 or over | Tax free |
| Preservation age (generally age 55 to age 59) |
Tax-free component1 is tax-free Taxable component2: The first $200,000 is tax free. The amount above $200,000 is taxed at 15% plus the applicable levies. |
| Less than preservation age | Tax-free component1 is tax free. Taxable component2 is taxed at 20% plus the applicable levies. |
1 The tax-free component consists of amounts such as the accumulation of non-concessional contributions, pre-1983 components and invalidity components. If you would like more information about these components call us on 1300 362 415.
2 The taxable component consists of the balance after subtracting the tax-free component. It generally comprises amounts such as the accumulation of concessional contributions and the post-1983 component. If you would like more information about these components, call us on 1300 362 415.
3 The $200,000 benefit limit is indexed in line with Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE) each year in $5,000 increments. This limit applies to all benefits received from any complying super fund.
If your benefit includes an untaxed element (such as insurance proceeds), a higher rate of tax may be applicable.
Q. What happens to my money in the event of my death?
A. Reversionary Beneficiary
You can nominate a reversionary beneficiary to continue receiving pension payments in the event of your death. You also have the choice of nominating a beneficiary to receive the remaining balance as a lump sum.
You can nominate one or more dependants or your legal personal representative as the beneficiaries of your death benefit. Your dependants may include your spouse, children, or others as outlined in the definitions on the following page.
If you nominate your legal personal representative, then he or she may distribute the benefit in accordance with your Will or, where there is no valid Will, the applicable intestacy laws.
To make a nomination
You need to nominate your reversionary beneficiary at the time you open a pension account by completing the relevant section of the Pension Application Form. Once your account is open, you can’t change your reversionary beneficiary. To make a change, you would need to close your pension account and open a new one.
There are rules around who you can nominate as your reversionary beneficiary. This person must be one of the following:
- your spouse
- your child who is under 18
- your child who is between 18 and 25 and financially dependent on you
- your disabled child (see section 8(1) of the Disability Services Act)
- an interdependant
- anyone financially dependent on you.
In the event of your death, your reversionary beneficiary will continue to receive your pension payments. Tax may apply to these payments.
For more information, refer to the Pension Handbook.
Transition to Retirement
Q. What is a Transition to Retirement (TTR) Pension account?
A. Under the transition to retirement rules, you can continue to work and contribute to your super while you supplement your take-home pay with income from your pension
To be eligible, you must have reached your preservation age and still be working or intend on returning to work.
A TTR Pension can be a useful way to:
- Top up your take home pay while you reduce your work hours
As you ease into retirement, you may want to reduce your working hours and move to part-time work. With a MTAA Super TTR Pension, you can draw on your super savings to help top up the difference in your take-home pay and maintain your lifestyle.
or
- Add extra to your super in the years before you retire
While you’re working and your super account remains open, you can continue to receive employer contributions to your super. You can increase your salary sacrifice contributions (up to your contributions cap) to give your super a boost before you retire, and then draw payments from your MTAA Super TTR Pension to top up your take-home pay.
For more information, refer to the Pension Handbook or call us on 1300 362 415.
Q. How does a Transition to Retirement (TTR) Pension work?
A. To open a TTR Pension account, you need to transfer money into it from your super account.
- When you open a Transition to Retirement Pension account, your MTAA Super account will stay open as long as you maintain a balance of at least $1,000.
- Your employer will continue to make contributions to your super account and you can also make extra contributions from your before-tax income (called salary sacrifice)
- You receive regular income from your Transition to Retirement Pension account in addition to your take home pay.
For more information, refer to the Pension Handbook or call us on 1300 362 415.