You’ll be able to access your super between 55 and 60, depending on when you were born. And you’ll become eligible for the age pension at 65½, rising to 67 by 2023. But there’s no fixed retirement age in Australia so it’s up to you when you retire.
You’ll need to take into account your health, your employment opportunities and your partner’s situation if you have one. But finances will play a big role when you decide to retire.
When can you access your super?
Generally, you can access your super when you:
- reach preservation age and you retire
- cease an employment arrangement after age 60
- reach preservation age and implement a transition to retirement strategy
- turn 65, whether you remain in the workforce or not.
What is your preservation age?
Your preservation age is when you can start to access your super. It will be between 55 and 60 depending on when you were born.
| Date of birth | Preservation age |
|---|---|
| Before 1 July 1960 | 55 |
| 1 July 1960 – 30 June 1961 | 56 |
| 1 July 1961 – 30 June 1962 | 57 |
| 1 July 1962 – 30 June 1963 | 58 |
| 1 July 1963 – 30 June 1964 | 59 |
| From 1 July 1964 | 60 |
When do Australians tend to retire?
The average retirement age for people aged 45 years and over in Australia is 55.3 years. But we’re tending to retire later in life. When you narrow it down to people who’ve retired in the past five years, the average increases to 62.9 years.
And retirement isn’t necessarily a one-time event, with more than one in four Australians between the ages of 45 and 59 returning to employment each year.
When are you eligible for the age pension?
To be eligible for a full or part age pension from the government, you must have reached your age pension eligibility age, satisfy an income test and an assets test, as well as other requirements.
In July 2017, the qualifying age for the age pension increased to 65 and 6 months, and it will continue to increase by six months every two years until 1 July 2023 when the qualifying age will be 67.
| Date of birth | Age pension eligibility age |
|---|---|
| Before 1 July 1952 | 65 years |
| 1 July 1952 – 31 December 1953 | 65 years and 6 months |
| 1 January 1954 – 30 June 1955 | 66 years |
| 1 July 1955 – 31 December 1956 | 66 years and 6 months |
| From 1 January 1957 | 67 years |
What do you need to think about when deciding when to retire?
When it comes to planning for retirement, it’s important to prepare yourself emotionally and financially.
You may need to fund a longer retirement
Australians are living longer so more of us may need a bigger pool of savings to fund longer retirements. In 1974-75, there were 80,000 people aged over 85 and that number is projected to reach around two million by 2054-55.
To avoid some of the common money mistakes that happen during retirement, you may need to explore the possibility of working for longer and delaying retirement or consider returning to the workforce.