Access your super early

Under normal circumstances, you can start accessing your super once you reach your preservation age. Your preservation age varies depending on your date of birth and it is not the same as the government Age Pension eligibility age, although it is common to confuse the two. 

The table below shows your preservation age, depending on when you were born: 

Birth Year	Age you can access your super
Before 1 July 1960	55
1 July 1960 to 30 June 1961	56
1 July 1961 to 30 June 1962	57
1 July 1962 to 30 June 1963	58
1 July 1963 to 30 June 1964	59
1 July 1964 or after	60

Although you can start accessing some of your super once you reach your preservation age, you won’t have full access to your super until you’ve met a condition of release. 

You can start accessing some of your super while you’re still working once you’ve reached your preservation age, but if you want to withdraw your super as a cash lump sum, you need to also meet a condition of release. Conditions of release include: 

1. Reaching preservation age and fully retiring.
2. Turning 60 and ceasing employment.
3. Turning 65 (even if you’re working)

If you’ve reached your preservation age, but haven’t met a condition of release, you can start accessing your super while you’re working, with a TTR Income account. A TTR Income account is an account based pension that provides regular payments from your super. Depending on your financial situation, it can be a tax effective way of accessing your super while you continue earning an income. If you’re considering this strategy, it could be a good idea to get some financial advice first, to make sure it’s the right approach for you.

If you choose to transfer all your money to a TTR Income account we’ll close your super account. If you want to keep your super account open, you’ll need to leave a minimum of $6,000 in your super account when withdrawing money.  

To maintain any insurance cover you’ll need to have enough money in your super account to pay for it. In some circumstances insurance cover can cease, such as if no contributions are received in your super account for 16 months – you can apply to extend cover, providing you have at least $1,000 in your super account. To learn more about the other factors that could impact your insurance cover read our Insurance in your super guide.

To apply to access your super, log into your online account and complete the Application for payment form.

If you’ve reached preservation age and met a condition of release, you can fully access your super as an account based pension (such as Choice Income account) or cash lump sum payment.

If you choose to withdraw all your money from your super account or transfer all your money to a Choice Income account we’ll close your super account. If you want to keep your super account open, you’ll need to leave a minimum of $6,000 in your super account when withdrawing money.  

To maintain any insurance cover you’ll need to have enough money in your super account to pay for it. In some circumstances insurance cover can cease, such as if no contributions are received in your super account for 16 months – you can apply to extend cover, providing you have at least $1,000 in your super account. To learn more about the other factors that could impact your insurance cover read our Insurance in your super guide.

 

Member Direct

If you have an investment in the Member Direct option and there are insufficient funds in your Accumulation and Member Direct cash account, you will need to sell some of your investments before submitting a withdrawal request. Term Deposits that haven't matured may incur penalties. For more information, please see the Member Direct guide.

 

If you’re struggling financially, you may be able to access some or all of your super before your preservation age to meet immediate needs. Regardless of your age, you can apply for one payment of up to $10,000 gross in a 12-month period if: 

• you haven't received a financial hardship payment from any superannuation fund within the last 12 months
• you’ve received eligible Commonwealth income support payments at the time of the claim and have been on these payments for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks
• you’re receiving these payments when you make your application for payment under financial hardship, and
• you’re unable to meet reasonable and immediate family living expenses.

If you’ve reached your preservation age and 39 weeks you can apply for any amount if:

• you’ve been receiving eligible Commonwealth income support payments for a combined period of at least 39 weeks since reaching your preservation age, and
• you’re unemployed or employed for less than ten hours a week when you make your application for payment under financial hardship.

You’re not eligible to apply for a payment on financial hardship grounds if you’re a temporary resident in Australia. If you want to keep your account open, you’ll need to leave a minimum of $1,000 in your account after the withdrawal.  

To maintain insurance cover you’ll need to have enough money in your super account to pay for it. In some circumstances insurance cover can cease, such as if no contributions are received in your super account for 16 months – you can apply to extend cover, providing you have at least $1,000 in your super account. To learn more about the other factors that could impact your insurance cover read our Insurance in your super guide.

Make a financial hardship claim

 

If you’re not eligible

If you haven’t met the eligibility criteria for severe financial hardship, the National Debt Helpline may be able to help with free financial counselling. Call 1800 007 007 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am–4.30pm), or visit ndh.org.au

You can apply to access your super before your preservation age on ‘compassionate grounds’. This includes if you need the money to pay for:

• medical expenses for you or your dependants
• partial payment of home loans to avoid foreclosure of the loan
• modification of a home or vehicle for you or your dependants suffering a severe disability
• the cost of palliative care for you or your dependants
• funeral costs for a dependant
• medical transport for you or your dependants.

Applications for payments under compassionate grounds need to be made to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

If your payment reduces your account balance it may affect your insurance cover. To maintain insurance cover you’ll need to have enough money in your super account to pay for it. In some circumstances insurance cover can cease, such as if no contributions are received in your super account for 16 months – you can apply to extend cover, providing you have at least $1,000 in your super account. To learn more about the other factors that could impact your insurance cover read our Insurance in your super guide 

For more information, see the Application for a payment (compassionate grounds) form.

If you’re a temporary resident who has earned super while working and living in Australia, you can apply to have your super paid to you before your preservation age as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) after you leave. 

To access your super, you must:

1. have been paid super while in Australia on a temporary visa, including subclasses 417 (Working Holiday) and 462 (Work and Holiday) and associated bridging visas
2. have already left Australia
3. be the holder of an expired or cancelled visa.

If you’re eligible, you can claim your super online or by lodging a paper form. To apply online or download a form, visit the Australian Tax Office (ATO) website ato.gov.au/departaustralia

Generally, super you access as a DASP will be taxed at 65% if you’ve been paid any of that super while on a subclass 417 or 462 visa or an associated bridging visa. Otherwise, tax applied is at a lower rate.

Australian citizens, permanent residents of Australia and New Zealand citizens aren’t eligible for the DASP. Australian citizens and permanent residents heading overseas remain subject to the same rules as those living in Australia, even if they leave Australia permanently. This means they can't access their super until they reach preservation age and retire, or satisfy another condition of release. However, individuals permanently moving New Zealand may be eligible to transfer their super to a KiwiSaver.

For more information, see the Claiming super when you leave Australia fact sheet.For information on transferring to a KiwiSaver see the Transfer your account to your KiwiSaver form.

You may be able to access some of your super before your preservation age to help fund the purchase of your first home. To be eligible, you need to: 

1. be aged 18 years or older
2. have never owned a property before in Australia
3. not be in the process of using FHSS to purchase other property, and
4. not have requested a release of FHSS funds for a home purchase previously. 

If you’ve previously owned property in Australia, and experienced financial hardship that resulted in a loss of ownership of a property, you may still be eligible to participate in the FHSS scheme, subject to approval from the ATO.

You can apply for a ‘determination’ to the ATO to find out the maximum amount that can be released under the FHSS. A determination can be applied for multiple times.

To maintain any insurance cover you’ll need to have enough money in your super account to pay for it. In some circumstances insurance cover can cease, such as if no contributions are received in your super account for 16 months – you can apply to extend cover, providing you have at least $1,000 in your super account. To learn more about the other factors that could impact your insurance cover read our Insurance in your super guide

For more information, see the Using your super to buy your first home fact sheet.

If you're diagnosed with a terminal illness or permanently incapacitated, you may be able to claim some or all of your super before your preservation age. Call us on 1300 300 273 if you’re in this situation.

You may also be able to access your super in the following circumstances: 

• If you have an account balance of $200 or less (you may be able to claim this as cash). 
• You have unrestricted non-preserved super (which is usually after-tax contributions made before 1 July 1999). You can log into your online account to check if you have any.
• You're between preservation age and the age of 64, have ceased gainful employment and don’t plan to work more than 10 hours a week again.

If you meet one of the above conditions and would like to withdraw some or all of your super, you can apply through your online account or call us on 1300 300 273 to obtain a copy of the Application for a payment form. 

If you are accessing some of your account under one of the above circumstances, you need to leave at least $6,000 in your account to keep it open. To request a withdrawal contact us. AustralianSuper may refuse your request for a payment or only pay out part of your request to ensure your account balance doesn’t fall below $6,000.

To maintain any insurance cover you’ll need to have enough money in your super account to pay for it. In some circumstances insurance cover can cease, such as if no contributions are received in your super account for 16 months – you can apply to extend cover, providing you have at least $1,000 in your super account. To learn more about the other factors that could impact your insurance cover read our Insurance in your super guide