Cut your hours, not your pay
To cut your working hours and top-up your pay, keep your super account active and transfer a minimum of $20,000 to a Retirement Transition account.[M5]
Pay yourself using your super
Choose how often you’d like to receive payments from your super. You can draw up to 10% of your account balance yearly (minimums also apply).
Work and grow your super
Reduce your work hours as you approach retirement and keep contributing to your super. You only pay 15% on contributions, which could be lower than your marginal tax rate.
Cut back your working week and spend more time enjoying the things you love, using your super to top up your income.[M5]
If you’re over 60, all your payments to yourself from your Retirement Transition account are tax free. Plus, the money you contribute to your super is taxed at 15%, which could be lower than your marginal tax rate.
How much and how often you get paid is up to you.* Pay yourself fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly. You can make changes to your payments any time.
Stay invested in retirement
Did you know around 30% of the income paid from your super comes from investment earnings you make in retirement?
That’s a fair chunk of change, so it pays to keep your savings invested, even in retirement.
Aware Super has a range of investment options designed to meet your changing needs. You decide how your money is invested and you can switch options any time.
- Based on the projection of the lifecycle of a single female member who starts from age 21 and plans to retire at age 67, which represents about 70% of our membership. The projection finishes at age 95.
- Results are approximated figures of 33% from investment earnings before retirement, 30% from investment earnings through retirement and 37% from contributions, which together make up the income in retirement paid by super.
- Results are stated in today’s dollars, deflated using Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE) at 3.5% p.a. for accumulation projection and using CPI at 2.5% p.a. for pension projection.
- Contributions are based on the averages of Aware Super members for each age.
- Investment returns for accumulation are based on the Aware Super MySuper Life Cycle option, assumed to be CPI + 4% p.a. until age 55, reducing from CPI + 4% p.a. to CPI + 2.75% p.a. between the ages 55-65 (inclusive) and CPI + 2.75% p.a. from age 65 onwards.
- Investment returns for pension is based on the Conservative Balanced option, assumed to be CPI + 3.25% p.a.
- Based on September 2024 Aged Pension rates, indexed with Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE) at 3.5% p.a.
- No admin fees and earnings tax are modelled as investment returns are assumed to be net of fees and tax.
- This example is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to provide a forecast or guarantee on outcome. The case study is based on current regulatory requirements and laws, including tax rates, which may be subject to change. Investment return assumptions are for illustrative purposes only. Actual returns year on year may be negative and may vary materially. If investment returns/inflation are higher or lower, final balances will differ.
What you need to know
When you turn 65 your Retirement Transition account automatically upgrades to a Retirement Income account, with even more benefits like:
- Tax-free income payments
- Tax-free investment returns (subject to a balance cap)
- Flexibility on when and how much you get paid.
Financially, this works in your favour but remember - you’re not locked in. You’re in full control of your money.
- Is this account right for you?
- Fees and costs?
- Forms & documents
- FAQ
Ready to open a Retirement Transition account?
Before you open an account
To open a Retirement Transition account, you'll need:
- To reach the minimum government age that allows you to withdraw super. That’s 60 years of age.
- A Future Saver super account with Aware Super - that’s your normal everyday super account.
- A minimum transfer of $20,000 from your Future Saver account into your new Retirement Transition account.
And just so you know before you apply, you can’t withdraw more than 10% of your account balance each year.
How to open an account
Log in now to open a Transition to Retirement account. You’ll need:
- Your personal details
- How much you want to transfer from your super
- How much you want to withdraw as regular income
- What you want to invest in
- Who you want to nominate as a beneficiary.
If you’re not yet an Aware Super member, you can also complete the ‘Open a retirement account’ form in the PDS.
Before you apply, read the Target Market Determination (TMD) and Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
Questions? Speak to our retirement experts on 1300 192 602.
Fees and costs
If you have a Retirement Transition account, the fees and costs are:
- An account-keeping fee of $52 per year
- An administration fee of 0.23% of your account balance each year, up to a maximum of $125 per month ($1,500 per year).
Plus administration costs paid from reserves that are not otherwise charged as administration fees of 0.01% per annum.^ These costs are not directly charged to your account but have reduced the reserve balance held by the fund to cover future administration costs.
Forms and documents
For all the product information and details regarding a Retirement Transition account, please read the following documents:
- Retiring with Aware Super fact sheet (PDF, 560kB)
- Product Disclosure Statement (PDS)- the PDS provides more detailed information about our Retirement Transition product.
- Target Market Determination (TMD)- the TMD describes who the product is suitable for. You can use this information to help decide whether this product is right for you
Frequently asked questions
The account works by allowing you to transfer your super into a Retirement Transition account. You can then receive regular income payments from your super savings to top up your income. You can be paid up to 10% of your account balance each year. How often you are paid is up to you. This can be tailored to suit your needs.
To be eligible for a Retirement Transition account, you must have reached your preservation age, are aged 64 or under, and still working.
Preservation age is the age the government allows you to access your super money.
If you are aged 65 or over, you are only eligible for a Retirement Income account. This is because once you turn 65 there are no longer any restrictions on accessing your super.
If you are retired from the workforce and over 58, you can open a Retirement Income account.
Investment returns could make up to 30% of your super balance at retirement, so it’s important to make the right investment choice. Aware Super has a menu of investment options designed to meet your changing needs
You can decide how your money is invested and can switch between investment options at any time.
Choose from our default option, Conservative Balanced, or create your own mix of investment options.
You'll need to make a minimum initial investment of $20,000 to open the account.
No. Except in some limited circumstances. You cannot make lump sum withdrawals from your super. See the PDS for details.
Yes. Because you are still working you need a super accumulation account to receive employer or other contributions into. It also can continue to give you access to insurance. Insurance is not offered in retirement.
This depends on your age. If you are aged 60 or over all income payments are 100% tax free.
Before the age of 60, income payments may be subject to tax.
All investment earnings in a Retirement Transition account are taxed at 15%, the same as a regular super account.
You can’t salary sacrifice directly into a Retirement Transition account, but you can have it paid into your super (accumulation) account.
You will need to ask your employer to provide you with all the details on how to set up your salary sacrifice. Your employer will let you know how this will affect your overall salary package.
