Retirement Bonus
Give your retirement a head start with a bonus

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What's the Retirement Bonus?

The Retirement Bonus is a tax saving we pay you (if eligible), when you move money from our Accumulation or Transition to Retirement Income account, to our Retirement Income account and/or Lifetime Pension.

$67.07m

paid in Retirement Bonuses

31,545

members have received a bonus

$9,500

is the maximum bonus amount2

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Automatic

Your Retirement Bonus is paid automatically when you open a Retirement Income account or start a Lifetime Pension.

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Tax-free

You don't pay tax on your bonus. It doesn't count towards your contributions cap (the limit on how much money you can add to your super each year).

How the Retirement Bonus works

Get back certain tax savings on your super when you retire. You don't need to apply - if you're eligible, you'll get it automatically.

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Before you retire

When we invest your super, we put aside money to pay capital gains tax (CGT) when we make a profit on assets in your investments.

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Setting up your retirement income

If you decide to move your super to our Retirement Income account and/or Lifetime Pension, your savings go into a tax-free investment environment. This reduces the amount we put aside to pay CGT.

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Getting your bonus

If you're eligible, we pay the money set aside for tax into your account as a bonus, so you can start your retirement with a little extra.

 

How much will I get?

When you start your Retirement Income account and/or Lifetime Pension, we calculate your Retirement Bonus as 0.5% of the eligible money you first put in. So, you could get a bonus of up to $9,500.2

Here's what that might look like:

Transfer amount Retirement Bonus
$200,000 $1,000
$500,000 $2,500
$800,000 $4,000
$1,000,000 $5,000
$1,700,000 $8,500
$1,900,000 $9,500

Am I eligible?

You could be eligible to receive a Retirement Bonus if you answer 'yes' to all of the following questions.

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    Have you been a member with us for over 12 months?

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    Do you have money in an Accumulation or Transition to Retirement Income account?

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    Are you using that money to start a Retirement Income account or Lifetime Pension?3

For more eligibility options, read 'Can I get the bonus' in the FAQs below.

If you've received a super death benefit:

You may be able to use the money to start a Retirement Income account and/or Lifetime Pension but you don't need to be a member for 12 months to get your Retirement Bonus.

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Calculate your Retirement Bonus amount

If you're 45 or older, log in to Member Online to see how much your bonus could be.

Retirement Bonus FAQs

Yes, the bonus counts towards your transfer balance cap, which is the amount of super you can move into a retirement product.

The cap is $1.9 million from 1 July 2023, so the most Retirement Bonus amount you could get is $9,500. This is calculated as 0.5% of the transfer balance cap amount.

To be eligible to receive a Retirement Bonus, you need to start one of the following products on or after 1 July 2023:

The money needs to come from:

  • Your Accumulation account,
  • Your Transition to Retirement Income account, or
  • A superannuation death benefit.

You need to have been a member with us for at least 12 months. This means you need to have some or all of your superannuation with us for at least 12 months before starting a Retirement Income account and/or Lifetime Pension.

But there’s an exception to the 12-month rule if the Retirement Income account or Lifetime Pension is commenced with a superannuation death benefit, or if you meet the permanent incapacity conditions of release.

Funds from Self Invest are ineligible for the Retirement Bonus.

You can choose any investment option (except for QSuper Self Invest) and you'll be eligible for the Retirement Bonus.

No, we don't count the Retirement Bonus as a concessional contribution. It's a tax-free bonus payment that we add to the retirement income products you open with us.

No. However you'll get it when you transfer money from a Transition to Retirement Income account to a Retirement Income account and/or Lifetime Pension.

The Retirement Bonus is the same for both QSuper and Super Savings accounts. The Retirement Bonus you get is based on the amount of money you use to start a Retirement Income account and/or Lifetime Pension.

Yes, if you're eligible, we'll pay a Retirement Bonus each time you start a Retirement Income account and/or Lifetime Pension.

However, there’s a $9,500 lifetime limit on the total bonus amount you can get, which from 1 July 2023, is $9,500 (0.5% x the general transfer balance cap of $1.9 million).

Note, your potential Retirement Bonus amount could be reduced by any previous Retirement Bonuses you've gotten, as well as commutations (such as withdrawals) or rollovers from an existing Retirement Income account or Lifetime Pension.

The Retirement Bonus is funded from a reduction in tax payable by Australian Retirement Trust that can occur when a member starts a Retirement Income account or Lifetime Pension.

When we invest your super, we set aside money as an estimate of the tax required to be paid when fund assets are sold. When you transfer your money into a Retirement Income account or Lifetime Pension, your money moves into a ‘tax-free investment environment.’ This reduces the tax payable by Australian Retirement Trust, which we can pass onto you as a Retirement Bonus.

The Retirement Bonus doesn't apply to money you may have in a Defined Benefit account. However, if you transfer your Defined Benefit to an Accumulation account (or Transition to Retirement Income account) before you start a Retirement Income account and/or Lifetime Pension, you could get the Retirement Bonus.

We do not pay the Retirement Bonus on transfers directly from your QSuper Defined Pension or Super Savings – Corporate Lifetime Pension.

Please contact us on 1300 360 750 for more information about specific Defined Benefit products.

 

1. Ratings are subject to change and only one factor you should consider when deciding how to invest your super. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. See our awards page for details.

 

2. This is based on 0.5% of the transfer balance cap of $1.9 million from 1 July 2023. You won't receive a Retirement Bonus when you transfer money that goes over the transfer balance cap. The government changes the transfer balance cap from time to time. Eligibility criteria apply.

3. Any potential Retirement Bonus could be reduced due to any commutations (such as withdrawals) or rollovers from an existing Retirement Income account or Lifetime Pension, or any previous Retirement Bonuses received. The Retirement Bonus is calculated on all investment options, except for Self Invest.