Transition to retirement

Are you thinking about retiring, but not ready to give up working completely? Setting up a transition to retirement (TTR) pension lets you receive payments from your super while you work. With a TTR income stream, you can enjoy working at a pace that suits your life stage and personal goals, while keeping your income steady.   

What is transition to retirement?  (TTR)

A transition to retirement (TTR) pension, also called a transition to retirement income stream, enables you to receive regular payments from your super while you’re semi-retired. If you’re approaching retirement and want to reduce the hours you work without stopping completely, this might be an option for you.    

You can also set up a TTR pension to access more income while you continue to work full-time. This extra income, up to 10% of your TTR account balance each year, could be used for expenses, to improve your lifestyle, or to top up your super through salary sacrifice.    

You should note that if you’ve retired and reached your preservation age, you can already access your super.  If this is the case, a flexible and tax-effective account-based pension might be a better option for you. 

At age 65 or when you retire, a TTR pension automatically switches to the rules of a full account-based pension, which has fewer restrictions and better tax benefits. 

How does transition to retirement work?  

A transition to retirement income stream works by enabling you to access part of your super before you’ve completely retired.  

Once you’ve reached your preservation age, but have not yet retired, you can typically start a TTR pension.

Your preservation age is based on the year you were born. See the chart below.   

Transition to retirement rules

A TTR income stream is restricted to a yearly maximum payment of 10% of your account balance. So, if you start a TTR pension with a balance of $100,000, the maximum you’ll be able to receive in pension payments during that financial year is $10,000. 

In the first year of starting a TTR pension, the maximum limit is based on the balance you open your account with. The 1 July balance is used for TTR pensions opened in previous financial years.    

You don’t need to work less to start a TTR income stream. You can also continue to work full-time and use it for its tax benefits.    

Things to ask yourself before you set up a transition to retirement pension   

A TTR pension can be an effective way to reduce your work hours as you approach retirement, without reducing your income. But a TTR pension will leave you with less money for retirement, so there are some important things to consider.    

• What is your super balance and how long will your super last you through retirement?

• Does your super fund give you the option to start a TTR pension?   

• How much income do you need for your retirement?   

• Will your government benefits be impacted?    

• Will your life insurance in super be affected?   

• Would you prefer to work full-time and start an account-based pension when you retire?   

Depending on your situation, you might want to let your super grow rather than accessing it through your TTR pension.   

Don't forget that if you’ve retired and reached your preservation age, you can already access your super.  This means a TTR pension may not be the best option for you.  By comparison, an account-based pension is more flexible and offers greater tax benefits.   

 At age 65 or when you retire, a TTR pension will automatically switch to the rules of an account-based pension.  This means you can access more of your balance, and the earnings within the account won’t be taxed.   

Benefits of a transition to retirement pension  

• Income replacement: If you’re working less, you can boost your employment income with pension payments.   
• Continue to work full-time and boost your super: You can also continue to work full-time, so that you’re building your super as you withdraw from it. The TTR income stream payments can provide you with more cashflow to make additional contributions to super like salary sacrifice or personal contributions. This can boost your super if the contributions are higher than what you’re drawing from the pension.  
• Tax benefits: If you’re over 60, your pension payments are tax free. Your super investment earnings will still be taxed though (see tax section below).    
•    Lifestyle: Work less, receive the same amount of money, and enjoy more free time as you wind down towards retirement.    

Transition to retirement disadvantages

•  Less money for retirement:  Your super savings will typically be reduced with TTR pension payments. Our retirement calculator can help you work out how much money you need for retirement. 
• May affect government benefits: As it’s additional income, a TTR income stream could impact you or your partner’s eligibility for government support like the Age Pension, or a Carer payment. Depending on your overall financial situation, you might not be eligible for these anyway.    
• Can affect life insurance: Does your cover reduce or stop when you start a TTR pension? Make sure you check with your provider.   

Are transition to retirement pensions taxable? 

If you’re aged 60 or over, all pension payments received from your TTR income stream are tax-free. If you’re under 60 when you open your TTR pension account, your payments will be taxed at your personal marginal tax rate, with a 15% tax offset.

However, investment earnings on the money in your TTR pension are still taxed at a maximum rate of 15% - the regular rate of your super investment earnings – until you fully retire or turn 65. After this time, your TTR pension will convert to the rules of account-based pension and investment earnings are tax-free. 

Can I start a transition to retirement pension from my self-managed super fund (SMSF)? 

It’s not compulsory for your SMSF to offer a transition to retirement pension, but if it does, you can.    

Since members of an SMSF are often the trustees and run it for their own benefit, this decision is in their hands.   

A summary of transition to retirement income   

• Anyone who has reached their preservation age, is still working, and has super savings could apply to set up a TTR pension.  
• There are restrictions and trade-offs that come with setting up a TTR pension.   
• It may not suit your individual circumstances as the rules can be complex.  
• If you have questions about our TTR pension, you can call us on 13 13 36.    

It is recommended that you speak with your financial adviser or connect with a financial adviser if you don’t already have one. You can use our find an adviser service to locate one near you. They’ll review your personal situation and help you find a solution which best suits your life-stage, financial goals, and risk tolerance.