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What is retirement age in Australia?

Finance Superannuation

20 February 2024 5 min read

There’s no fixed retirement age in Australia, but before you leave the workforce, you should know when you can access your super.

There are no rules around the age you can retire in Australia.

But because your super is a compulsory, long-term investment designed to save for your retirement, there are rules about what age you can access your super.

When you can access your super is different to when you can access the Age Pension.

When you can access your super

You can generally access your super when you stop working and reach your preservation age.

If you were born on or before 30 June 1964, you’ve already reached your preservation age. If you were born after that date, your preservation age is 60.

Here’s a snapshot of the rules to access your super:

Age 65 or over Age 65 or over

You can access your super, without restrictions, even if you're still working.¹

Age 60 to 64 Age 60 to 64

You can access your super as long as you've permanently retired.

If you end an employment arrangement on or after age 60, you can also access the super you've earned up until then.

If you're not ready to retire, you could use some of your super while you’re still working, with a Transition to Retirement Income account.

Under age 60, born before 1 July 1964 Under age 60, born before 1 July 1964

If you were born before 1 July 1964, these are the ages at which you could have accessed your super without restriction if you had permanently retired:

Born before 1 July 1960, you could access your super at age 55
Born 1 July 1960–30 June 1961, you could access your super at age 56
Born 1 July 1961–30 June 1962, you could access your super at age 57
Born 1 July 1962–30 June 1963, you could access your super at age 58
Born 1 July 1963–30 June 1964, you could access your super at age 59
Born from 1 July 1964, you can access your super from age 60

Under your preservation age, born 1 July 1964 or later Under your preservation age, born 1 July 1964 or later

You would need to meet one of the conditions for early access, such as severe financial hardship or a terminal medical condition.

How you can access your super

Once you’re eligible to access your super, you may be able to:

get regular payments from your super using a retirement income product
withdraw it as a lump sum
access your money using a combination of both an income stream and lump sum.

Will your payment be taxed?

If you are under 60, tax may apply to the taxable component of your benefit even if you have reached your preservation age. Once you are over 60, there is no tax payable on lump sums or income stream payments. Please refer to our Tax Explanation factsheet for more information.

Will you be eligible for government benefits?

As well as your super, you might qualify for the Age Pension or other government benefits. To be eligible for the Age Pension you must meet the age and residency requirements and pass the income and asset test.

You may be able to combine the Age Pension with your superannuation savings in retirement.

You might like to get financial advice

Get the most out of your super and be confident you are making informed decisions about your retirement.

We aim to make it easy to get advice by:

Online Advice² – Log in to Member Online for our online advice service about your super.

Phone Advice² – Call 1300 360 750 for simple over-the-phone advice about your account.

Your Adviser – We can work with your adviser. If you don’t have one, we may refer you to an accredited external financial adviser.³

Book an appointment or find out more about our financial advice options.

1. If you hold a Defined Benefit account, there are some important considerations before you access your super when you are still working.
2. Employees in the Australian Retirement Trust group provide advice to members and employers as representatives of QInvest Limited (ABN 35 063 511 580, AFSL 238274), which is wholly owned by the Trustee as an asset of Australian Retirement Trust. QInvest Limited is a separate legal entity responsible for the financial services it provides. Eligibility conditions apply. Refer to the Financial Services Guide (pdf) at qsuper.qld.gov.au/guides for more information.
3. The Trustee has established a panel of accredited external financial advisers who are not employees of the Australian Retirement Trust group. The Trustee is not responsible for the advice provided by these advisers and does not receive or pay any referral fees. These advisers will explain to you how their advice fees are determined.