Lifetime Pension

Our Lifetime Pension isn't an annuity. It's an innovative new retirement product that's the first of its kind in Australia.

There are a few key differences between our Lifetime Pension and a traditional annuity:

1. The Lifetime Pension generally provides a higher income as it's linked to the market. An annuity is usually invested conservatively and pays a lower, fixed income for life.
2. The rate of income isn't guaranteed, and the payment amounts can go up and down each year, whereas an annuity often gives a fixed income amount.
3. Lifetime Pension is designed to be a lower cost product by converting all capital to income, except for fees and costs.
4. Lifetime Pension payments are for the rest of your life. An annuity typically has payments for your predicted life expectancy, with an added cost if you want payments until you die.
5. You use your super to purchase a Lifetime Pension, not your personal savings like an annuity offered by a life insurance company.

There are also a few similarities between Lifetime Pension and a traditional annuity:

1. Both products provide tax-free income after you turn 60 years old.
2. Lifetime Pension provides a death benefit, which some annuities also do. If you're diagnosed with a terminal illness or die before receiving payments equal to your purchase price, we return the difference to your estate.
3. Lifetime Pension provides an income for as long as you live (and your spouse's lifetime if you have the spouse protection option). Some annuities offer an income for the same amount of time.

Try our Lifetime Pension calculator to see how much income you could get in your first year or attend one of our member seminars.

You can start a Lifetime Pension any time between your 60th and 80th birthdays, if you meet at least one of the following conditions:

• Permanently retired
• Changed jobs on or after age 60
• Aged 65 or older
• Received an eligible death benefit
• Met another approved condition of release.

Download the PDS (pdf) to find out more about eligibility. If you don't already hold a QSuper account, you can still open a Lifetime Pension. 

You can also open a Retirement Income account anytime after retiring, and these two products are designed to work well together. 

Attend one of our member seminars to find out more about your retirement options.

Yes, once you open a Lifetime Pension with your super, it becomes an income stream.

• You get fortnightly tax-free payments for the rest of your life, and the life of your spouse (if you've chosen the spouse protection option).
• It can be used with an account-based pension like our Retirement Income account to build an income stream to meet your individual needs. 

If you're not ready to retire, our Transition to Retirement Income account gives you payments from your super while you're still working.

Find out why it's great to retire with us. You can explore your options for retirement income with our Retirement Calculator to help you make the most of your super.

Our Lifetime Pension isn't an account-based pension but it's designed so you can combine it with one - like our Retirement Income account - to take advantage of the differences between the two product types:

• With an Income account, there's no guarantee that your balance will last your lifetime - it may run out. So our Lifetime Pension provides an income for life.
• An Income account is more flexible - you can choose your investment options, change how much and how often you get payments, and take out money when needed. Your Lifetime Pension is a set-and-forget product that is designed to maximise income, so you can’t change your annually adjusted payments or how they are invested.
• Once you purchase a Lifetime Pension, you can't withdraw that money after the 6-month cooling off period, except for terminal illness or death. So an Income account can be helpful because it allows withdrawals at any time.
• Centrelink's income and assets tests for the Age Pension treat an Income account and a Lifetime Pension differently.

Using our Lifetime Pension together with an account-based pension can give you the best of both worlds - the confidence of an income for life, and the flexibility to withdraw money when you need it.

Learn more about account-based pensions or consider getting financial advice about how our retirement solutions might suit you.