Redundancy and resignation - deferring your benefit

If you are made redundant or resign from a SASS employer, you will need to make a decision about your SASS benefit.

Resigning from a SASS employer

When you resign from your SASS employer you will need to decide whether to roll over to another super fund or keep it deferred within SASS.

If you have reached your earliest retirement age, which for most members is age 58 the retirement benefit calculation is used based on the number of benefit points that you have accrued up until that point.

If you have not yet reached your earliest retirement age, and you are considering rolling over your SASS account, you should request a benefit estimate from State Super Customer Service. It’s important to check whether you receive a higher benefit by deferring in the scheme, rather than taking it as an immediate withdrawal benefit and rolling it to another super fund.

If you choose to defer your benefit your account will no longer be a defined benefit calculated based on a formula, it will be an account balance that is invested and will receive the investment returns of the underlying investment strategy.

Retrenchment and your SASS benefit

Your SASS benefit payable on retrenchment will include your:

• Personal Account balance including earnings.
• Employer Financed Benefit based on your accrued benefit points and the higher of your final salary or your Final Average Salary if you are below the scheme earliest retirement age, for most members this is 58. If you are retrenched after reaching your eligible retirement age (generally 58), then the retirement benefit is payable.
• State Authorities Non-contributory Superannuation Scheme benefit which includes your Basic Benefit, based on your final average salary.

You may choose to roll over your retrenchment benefit to another superannuation fund of your choice. Or you can leave it in the SASS scheme as a deferred benefit. There is no difference in the total benefit whichever option you choose.

Your estimated benefit

Your estimated withdrawal and deferred benefit² are included in your annual statement under the heading 'alternative benefits'.

^{2 Your estimated withdrawal and deferred benefit for resignation, discharge, dismissal and retrenchment.}

Defined benefit pension

If you have a defined benefit pension option as a feature of your account, you will lose this option if you resign or are retrenched before age 60.

Additional benefit cover

Once you defer your benefit, you will no longer have death and permanent disability insurance cover. This is your Optional Additional Benefit Cover.

Cashing out your super

Whether resigning or facing retrenchment, at the point of exit from your SASS employer the restricted non-preserved amount will become unrestricted non-preserved and could be cashed out and the balance rolled over to another super fund.

The preserved amount will remain in the super system until you meet the conditions of release. For more information refer to the State Super Fact Sheet 4 - When can I be paid my superannuation benefits?

It’s important to get help to understand your options. An Aware financial planner³ can help you.

Book an appointment

³ Financial planning services are provided by our financial planning business, Aware Financial Services Australia Limited, ABN 86 003 742 756 AFSL No. 238430.

Further contributions

If you choose to defer your benefit in SASS following resignation or retrenchment from a SASS employer, you and future employers won’t be able to make additional contributions. You would need to open an account with another super fund such as Aware Super. You can then direct your new employer to pay Super Guarantee contributions to that account and make any additional personal super contributions up to the relevant contribution’s limits.

Why choose Aware Super

Managing your SASS deferred account

Login to the State Super member portal. You can:
 

• Request an online benefit estimate
• View or download your last statement; and
• Keep your contact details up to date