RETIREMENT

Transition to retirement

Retire with more or retire sooner? With a Transition to retirement strategy, the choice is yours. It’s designed to help you ease into retirement, but it’s also a great way to increase your super balance in your final working years.

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What is TTR? Benefits Tax talk More information

WHAT IS TTR?

Ease yourself into retirement

If you have reached your preservation age and are still working, you can access your super as an income stream while you are still working. This is called a transition to retirement (TTR) strategy.

Lifestyle booster

Reduce your working hours (for example, by moving to part-time work) and maintain your current take-home pay.

Super booster

Increase your super savings without affecting your day-to-day income by contributing more of your earned income to super (via salary sacrificing).

Income booster

Top up your current income while continuing to work the same number of hours, while also saving on tax to boost your retirement income.

BENEFITS

How does it work?

A TTR strategy changes the way you receive your income by letting you top up your current income with a regular ‘income’ from your super. This means instead of receiving your income from one source (your employer), you receive income from two sources (your employer and your super).

Reduce your working hours, not your income

You can ease into your retirement by working fewer hours. This could mean you'll earn a lower income, but you can supplement this lower income with a regular income from your retirement account.

Top up your super as you go

With a TTR strategy, you can keep contributing to your super while you're working. This includes any super guarantee contributions your employer makes, any salary sacrifice or voluntary (after-tax) contributions you make and rollovers from other super accounts you may have. It's an effective way of keeping your balance growing while you draw a pension.

Take advantage of the tax benefits

If you choose to salary sacrifice into your retirement account, you could pay less income tax. If you're aged 60 or over, your pension income is tax free. If you're under 60 (and have met your preservation age), your pension income is taxed at your marginal tax rate, but you receive a 15% tax offset.

Accessing your money

There is a minimum and maximum amount you may withdraw from a transition to retirement pension each year. Until you retire or reach age 65, the maximum income you may draw in any year is 10% of the account balance. If you are under 65, the minimum amount you must take each financial year is 4%.

TAX TALK

Tax benefits

Generally, the income you receive from your retirement account is taxed at more favourable rates than your salary.

Tax concessions – If you’re between preservation age and 59, your retirement account income is eligible for a 15% tax offset.
Tax-free income – If you’re aged 60 or over, your income from your retirement account is tax free.

MORE INFORMATION

Want to know more?

The Ease Yourself Into Retirement Fact Sheet has more information about how a TTR strategy works. You can also call us on 1800 555 667 or email us to learn more about TTR.

Get expert advice

If you’re wondering whether a TTR strategy is suitable to your personal circumstances, you can rely on our advice offer to get some guidance.

Interested in TTR?

To access a TTR strategy you need to move some or all of your super into a retirement account, such as iQ Retirement.

Discover iQ Retirement

iQ Retirement can help you with a TTR strategy, because it combines a contribution account with a TTR account, so you can contribute to your super while drawing a TTR pension.

Alternatively, if you have reached your preservation age and are no longer working, you can use iQ Retirement to access your super to start a full pension.

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