A lot of people confuse the eligibility age for the Age Pension and the age at which you can access your superannuation. Although different, they are both important dates - particularly when it comes to planning your financial future.
So here we’ve put together some information on these two points.
Counting down the days to retirement? There isn’t a standard age to retire here in Australia but you may take into consideration the age at which you might receive the pension.
On 1 July 2021, the eligibility age rose from 66 years to 66 years and 6 months (for anyone born between 1 July 1955 and 31 December 1956). But that’s not the same age at which you can access your superannuation.
According to the ATO (Australian Taxation Office), you can withdraw your super:
when you turn 65 (even if you haven’t retired)
when you reach preservation age and retire or
under the transition to retirement rules, while continuing to work after reaching preservation age.
Your preservation age depends on when you were born, you can use this handy table from the ATO to work out your preservation age.
Preservation Age based on Date of Birth
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
Source: (ATO, Australian Taxation Office - Services Australia, Australian Government)
If you’d like to put your plans in place for retirement now or need some assistance calculating how much you’ll need to retire comfortably in the future, give us a call on (02) 4926 8000. The team at Hub is here to help.
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