Retirement Bonus
Give your retirement a head start with a bonus

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

The cap remains at $1.9 million for the 2024-25 financial year, 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:

• QSuper Retirement Income account
• Super Savings Retirement Income account,
• Lifetime Pension.

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 2024, 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.’² 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.