Education videos

Welcome and thank you for taking the time to join the AustralianSuper's Setting your super up for success presentation. Your super might be something you don't spend much time thinking about, and retirement might seem a long way off. But aside from a house, your super could be the biggest investment you have in your life, and it's all for your future. In today's presentation, we'll cover tips and strategies to help you set up your super for success. My name is Jaclyn and I'm an Education Manager at AustralianSuper. My job is to help you better understand how super works.

Before we start, it is important to understand that the information we are covering today is general financial advice, and doesn't take into account your personal objectives, situation or needs. Before making a decision, consider if the information is right for you and read the relevant PDS by visiting australiansuper.com/pds or by calling 1300 300 273. Also it's important to note that investment returns are not guaranteed and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

Today, we will be covering a number of concepts to help to set your super up for success including: understanding the basics of super, then we'll take a look at tips and strategies to manage your financial wellbeing, take control of your super, and the simple actions you can take now to set your super up for success. Superannuation is one of those things that can be easy to ignore, especially if we have a lot going on with our finances outside super and life in general. When we're young, retirement can feel like it's forever away. So tinkering around with our retirement savings that we may not be able to access for 20 or 30 years might not feel like a priority, but getting on top of your super at an early age could help you have the lifestyle you want later in life. To better understand super, let's take a closer look at the super basics.

Super is money set aside while you're working, so you'll have money to live off when you retire. Your employer directs a percentage of your salary to your nominated super account. At this time, the minimum your employer should be paying is 10% per annum. There are some exceptional circumstances in which employers aren't required to pay super, for example, some contractors. This money is invested by your super fund and earns returns, which will help grow your retirement savings for your future. When we say returns, we're referring to how much money the money you have invested in super has made. There are often some misconceptions about super, but as mentioned before, it could be one of your biggest assets. Your super is here to provide you with an income in retirement once you have stopped working. Without super and other savings, you may be relying on the Age Pension. Super can provide income for you to help you have the lifestyle you would like in retirement. It is also tax-effective with contributions potentially reducing your tax and the investment earnings inside your super, being taxed at 15% per annum in accumulation and 0% in retirement. This could be potentially lower than your taxable income.

But one of the true wonders of super is compound interest. The value of investing over the long term. Compounding is an important part of investing. In fact, it's often referred to as one of the great wonders of investing. In relation to your super, put simply, compounding is the investment returns generated on the returns you've already earned. Picture this: A snowball rolling along. It may start small, but it grows the longer it rolls. That's because it's adding layer after layer. The snowball represents your balance and the layers represent the compounding returns. Compound returns are earned on your entire super balance. Your super fund continues to invest these additional returns. The process repeats, continuing to accumulate returns as long as your super is invested, leading your balance to grow through employer and voluntary contributions while still compounding the returns.

Everything we do at AustralianSuper is designed to help people achieve their best retirement. As one of the biggest funds in the world, our size and scale mean that we have access to some of the world's best investments. Choosing the right investment is important. It can affect how much your savings grow and how long they last. You can decide to either leave your investment in the default investment option, which is the Balanced option, a PreMixed option, or choose and manage your own. You can also make and change investment choices after you become a member. You can choose one or a variety of options. And if you don't make a choice, your super savings will be invested in our Balanced option. PreMixed options are diversified options that invest across different combinations of asset classes, such as shares, property, infrastructure, fixed interest, and cash. There are a number of PreMixed options, which include High Growth, Balanced, Socially Aware, Index Diversified, Conservative Balanced, and Stable. DIY Mix options are single asset class portfolios. You choose how much you want to invest in each mix that can also include one or more PreMixed options. Your DIY Mix choices are Australian Shares, International Shares, Diversified Fixed Interest, and Cash. The Member Direct investment option gives you the greatest control of all options. You can invest your own super in a range of listed securities, including shares in the S&P/ASX 300 Index, Exchange Traded Funds, Listed Investment Companies, or term deposits. A good place to start in making this decision is to read the AustralianSuper Investment Guide which is available at australiansuper.com/investmentguide This guide can help you make your decision. You'll look at your investment needs and then go through your options in more detail. Alternatively, you can speak to a phone-based Financial Adviser who can look at your situation and provide advice on the most appropriate investment option for you.

Before we look at how you can benefit from taking control and making the most of your super, it's important to ensure you have taken control of your financial wellbeing outside super. A great place to start is managing your savings and understanding your spending habits. Setting short-term, mid-term, and long-term financial goals is an important step toward becoming financially secure. If you aren't working toward anything specific, you'll likely spend more than you should. You'll then come up short when you need money for unexpected bills, not to mention when you want to make a big purchase or retire. Vague goals don't necessarily work. Goals should be specific. Your goal is direct, detailed, and meaningful. It should be measurable. Your goal is quantifiable to track progress or success. Attainable, your goal is realistic, and you have the tools and the resources to attain it. Relevant, your goal matters to you. Time-based, your goal has a deadline. You can then break them down into smaller goals to ensure you are chipping away at these, which can help with motivation to continue working towards your goals. But what's next?

Once you've set your goals, it's actually a good time to look at what you were spending and create a budget. For those that already have a budget, how did that go? Did you stick to it? Do you review it regularly? The best way to control your finances is to do a budget. It will show you if you are spending more or less than you can afford. It can highlight where you can save money, or if you have surplus, it allows you to make other plans, such as saving for your goal or make super contributions if appropriate. Once you know your budget, you can set up a savings plan to better manage your finances. This could include implementing a bucket approach. The first step to becoming a budgeting expert is deciding how many buckets you need and what they are. An example might be a bucket for your bills, which covers things like your rent or mortgage repayments, as well as utility bills and repaying any debts. Then you could have a bucket for the everyday, which could cover things like groceries, public transport, and petrol. Then another could be a spend bucket. This could be for anything from catching the latest Marvel movie to eating out on a date night or even those shoes you've been eyeing off. And finally, a savings bucket. This will cover any emergencies and also things you're saving up for. It could be a family trip to Europe, your first house, or a new set of wheels. Once you've put a budget together, tracked your spending and implemented a bucket approach, this is something that you can continue to review regularly and work towards your goals.

So far, we've covered steps to manage your financial wellbeing with setting goals, budgeting, and allocating savings. It is now a great time to take a look at the five steps to take control of your super. In setting up your super for success, it's important you have chosen the best super fund for you. A great place to start is to do a comparison. There are a number of factors to consider when conducting a comparison including performance. How your super performs over the long term will make a big difference to your money for retirement. Fees It's important that you're paying reasonable fees. And insurance, which provides financial support for you and your family if anything happens to you.

If you have more than one super fund, you may want to consider consolidating your accounts if it's appropriate for you. Consolidating into one account might reduce the overall costs of your super accounts, helping you to grow your super. It's important to know before you consolidate to do your research. Use the comparison tool. Ask your super providers about any fees or charges that may apply. Another important consideration is your insurance cover. Before you rollover your accounts, it's important to ensure you have adequate insurance in place in your new account as you will most likely lose any insurance that was in place on the account you rollover.

Adding a little extra to your super can be a great way to boost your super savings for retirement. Paying extra into your super could save you tax and help you retire with more. Contributing small amounts over time is often easier than finding a spare lump sum of money. This way, your super can grow with investment returns. You can add to super in two ways. Before-tax, including employer contributions, salary sacrifice, extra employer, and tax-deductible personal contributions. These are also called concessional contributions. There is a limit to how much you can contribute each year for this type of contribution, which is $27,500 per annum. In certain circumstances, you can contribute more than the annual limit if you've not reached the contribution limits in prior years, which is known as the carry forward rule. The other way you can contribute is after-tax, which includes spouse contributions, after-tax employer, and non-deductible personal contributions. If you make contributions above the annual non-concessional contributions cap, you may be eligible to automatically gain access to future year's caps. This is known as the bring forward rule.

Depending on your total income, if you make after-tax contributions to your super account, the Government also makes a contribution called a co-contribution, up to a maximum of $500. The co-contribution is tax-free and isn't taxed when it's deposited into or withdrawn from your super account. For example, if you earn $41,112 or less, you could receive the full $500 bonus if you add $1,000 or more to your super from your take-home pay. If you earn between $41,112 and $56,112, you'll still get a Government co-contribution, but not the full amount. You can find out if you qualify at australiansuper.com/Co-Contribution. As mentioned earlier, adding to your super can help it grow for the long term.

AustralianSuper provides most members with basic insurance cover with their super account with some age and eligibility conditions applied. This cover provides a basic level of protection if you die or become ill or injured. Eligible members receive age-based Death, Total and Permanent Disablement, and Income Protection cover. Age-based cover is designed to provide a minimum amount of cover for changing needs as you get older. Death cover can help ease financial stress by paying a lump sum to your beneficiaries if something happens to you. TPD can pay you a lump sum payment if you become totally and permanently disabled and can no longer work. Income Protection can help you if you become ill or injured at work or outside of work and can't temporarily work. It can provide monthly payments to help you get by while you're not earning your regular salary. You can adjust the level of cover you hold to meet your needs. For Income Protection, you can insure up to 85% of your income with either a 30-day or a 60-day wait and benefit period paid for two years or up to age 65. You can access more detail on insurance by reading the Insurance in your super guide available on the AustralianSuper website. You can also calculate an estimate of your insurance needs by using the Insurance Calculator available on our website. This is a great guide to estimate how much cover you should have and how much your cover should cost.

If you've taken the time to carefully choose the super fund and you're happy with how it's performing, one of the best things you can do is take your fund with you when you change jobs or retire. You can also use the tools available to you to track your super, including an online account and the mobile app.

It's also important to let your fund know what happens to your super in the event of your passing, and there are a few options when deciding what happens to your money. You can nominate a beneficiary in two ways: binding and non-binding. With a binding nomination, you complete a form providing formal written direction to AustralianSuper to tell us who you want your account balance and Death cover paid to so that it's legally binding. A binding nomination comes into effect from the date we accept it and expires three years from the date you signed the form. You can set up or change your binding nomination by completing a valid binding death benefit nomination form, and you will be prompted to update it every three years. With a non-binding beneficiary, you nominate who you'd prefer your account to be paid. However, your nomination is not legally binding. And although the fund will consider who you choose, ultimately, the fund are legally responsible and will need to consider relevant laws when making a decision. You can make a non-binding nomination by completing the Change my details form available at australiansuper.com/factsheets or through your online account at any time, or by calling us.

So who can you nominate as a valid beneficiary? You can nominate your spouse or partner, including the same-sex or de facto relationships, your child of any age, interdependants who is someone who lives with you and shares a close personal relationship where one or both of you provide financial and domestic support and personal care of the other. Other financial dependants, such as someone who relies on you financially, or your estate or legal personal representative. So it's important to check if you have a beneficiary and look into your options to make the right choice for you. We have covered a number of concepts today to help you set your super up for success.

We've looked at understanding the basics of super, including the power of compounding interest, managing your financial wellbeing, and taking control of your super, but it's so important to take the steps now to ensure you set your super up for success. You could start by creating a budget, which will give you a clear picture of your finances today and help you set your goals and ultimately achieve them. You could check that your account details are up to date to ensure that when you want to take any actions on your account, you're able to do so. Another great step is to search for lost super. It could be reassuring to know you have all your super in the one account if you don't find any. Alternatively, if you do find lost super, you can consolidate it into your account to ensure that all your super money is working for you. And finally, download the AustralianSuper app. This is a great tool to track your super, check where you're invested, what insurance you have, and monitor your contributions. You can also make additional contributions to your super from the app when it's appropriate. And a great way to look at the long-term impact of setting up your super for success is to use the Super Projection Calculator. The calculator is available on the AustralianSuper website and is a great tool to look at what your lifestyle might be in retirement. You can see what it is today if you make no changes, and what it could be if you decide to add extra to your super. It could have a significant impact on your future.

AustralianSuper aims to provide help and advice to members as they need it. And we do this in three main ways. Online via our website, which has a range of tools and calculators and information about AustralianSuper and super in general. You can speak with an advice team member over the phone for simple personal advice, covering topics relating to your AustralianSuper account, such as your investment options, making contributions to super, insurance, and retirement income options. This advice is provided at no additional cost to members. Its cost is included in the member fee that we all pay. So I would suggest that to get the best value from your AustralianSuper membership, it makes sense to seek advice as you need it. I will just note that phone advice for retirement or transition to retirement has a small fee. For those members that would prefer to meet with an adviser or maybe have more complex issues, AustralianSuper also offers access to Financial Planners based in our offices around Australia. This advice is usually provided face-to-face or as a virtual meeting. This financial advice service is at the member's own expense. You can also access advice in your local area with a registered Financial Adviser. You can find all the advice options through our Find an Adviser tool.

By attending today's session, you have already taken a step in learning more about making the most of your super. I encourage you to look at what is available to you and determine what is the best course of action for you. We thank you for attending and wish you all the very best with your financial journey.

Welcome to today's presentation from AustralianSuper –Do you need $1 million dollars to retire? Retirement, just the thought of it, can invoke many different emotions, whether it's on your horizon, ten years away, five years away, or even less than one year away. You start to think about what retirement will look like. What will you do? Where will you go? What can you continue doing, and what will you stop doing? There are many things to consider. Then you remember you once heard that you need a million dollars to retire. So, you start thinking, how much do I have? Will I have enough to retire?

So, do you really need a million dollars? Well, today we will take a look at whether that is fact or myth. My name is Lauren Davis, and I'm part of the Education team at AustralianSuper. I've been working in financial services for 17 years, and my job is to help you better understand how super works.

Before we start, it is important to understand that the information we are covering today is general financial advice, and doesn't take into account your personal objectives, situation or needs. Before making a decision, consider if the information is right for you and read the relevant PDS by visiting australiansuper.com/pds or by calling 1300 300 273. Also, it's important to note that investment returns are not guaranteed. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns. With me today, I have Financial Planner, Phil Wilkins. And together, we'll be exploring the question, do you need a million dollars to retire?

I'm a comprehensive Financial Planner for AustralianSuper. The majority of my role is to give personal financial advice for members and non-members as they approach retirement or have just retired and helping them achieve what's most important for them.

Thanks, Phil. It'll be really valuable for our attendees today to hear from you about some of the common questions you get asked about retirement and also how much someone would need. These questions include: What kind of lifestyle you would like in retirement? How much income will you need? Where will your income come from? When can you access your super? And how long should your money last in retirement? Let's tackle these questions together and help you understand how much super you might need for your retirement. As we enter retirement, there'll be many things that you start or stop doing. Will you continue to dine out once a week? Will you start a new hobby or activity? Will you travel locally or overseas? These things will have an impact on your income needs. So today we'll be discussing how much income you may need in retirement. And that's all going to depend on what sort of a lifestyle you want in retirement. It's important to consider we are all very different and we all have different expectations of our lifestyle. To give us a starting point for our discussion today, we're going to look at the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia's retirement standards which are indexed every quarter. The ASFA retirement standard benchmarks the minimum annual cost of a comfortable or modest standard of living in retirement for singles and couples aged around 67 years, who also own their own home outright.

Phil, can you please explain the different retirement standards?

We'll look at a comfortable retirement lifestyle first, and the income required to fund this for a single person or a couple. A comfortable retirement lifestyle enables a healthy retiree to be involved in a broad range of leisure and recreational activities, and have a good standard of living through the purchase of such things as household goods, private health insurance, a reasonable car, good clothes, a range of electronic equipment and domestic or occasional international travels. Let's compare this to a modest lifestyle. A modest retirement lifestyle by the ASFA retirement standards is considered better than the Age Pension, but only able to afford fairly basic activities. You'll notice from the image that there are a number of items that have disappeared that were included in the comfortable lifestyle but missing from the modest retirement lifestyle. When we describe a modest retirement lifestyle, it is considered better than the Age Pension, but you're still only able to afford fairly basic activities. It's important to remember, this is a guide only, and not an actual representation of what you can, or you can't achieve in retirement.

When we're describing the ASFA retirement standards for the comfortable or modest retirement lifestyle, it's useful to see how these compare to the full Government Age Pension. Here we are comparing the ASFA retirement standard for a modest and a comfortable lifestyle with the full Government Age Pension. You can see from the table that the ASFA retirement standards for a modest lifestyle is slightly higher than the full Age Pension for both a single and a couple. The full Age Pension is around $3,000 less than the ASFA modest retirement standard. So, it's important to be aware that if you're relying solely on the full Age Pension, there's still a gap to make up between the Age Pension and the ASFA modest lifestyle standard. This is where your super, even a modest account balance, can make a big difference to your lifestyle in retirement.

So, after looking at the retirement standards as a guide, we can now look at how you can determine what your income should be and where it will come from. Let's look firstly at how we can determine what your income should be. Phil, what can we do to determine what our income should be in retirement?

Before you can actually work out how much you're going to need in retirement, it's important to know what you're spending now. Because without knowing this, it's hard to determine what you will need in retirement. One way to work out what you're spending now is to create a budget. Most of us already budget to some degree, whether we have a written budget or not, but documenting your budget is important. Budgets can be simple or comprehensive, but either way, can be very easy to do. Rather than creating a budget which may turn out not to be accurate, try tracking your spending for a period of time. Write down everything you spend and then summarise it. For example, how much did you spend on household expenses, mortgage, rent, council rates, insurance, utilities, groceries and other goods and services. It's important to consider your health costs, petrol, public transport, motor vehicle servicing, registration, insurance. And then what did you spend going out for coffee, dinner, the movies, outings with friends and holidays. These are just some of the expenses that you may have. By tracking your spending, all of your current expenditure will be known, and you can then work out what is essential and discretionary. What will need to continue in retirement and what you may stop. There are some great budgeting tools available, but the Moneysmart Simple Money Manager is a fantastic tool to start this process.

Understanding your income needs is an important first step, but where is this income going to come from? Phil, can you please talk us through what these income sources could be?

Your retirement income could actually come from a number of different sources. And as we've mentioned, the Age Pension could be one of these. The Age Pension is an age-based and means-tested Government benefit. This means there are several tests that are applied to determine eligibility. First of all, you can only apply once you've met your Age Pension qualifying age, which we'll take a look at. The tests measure your level of income and the value of your assets to determine your eligibility for the Age Pension. The income and asset tests include your income from all sources, including any super account you may have, as well as all of your assets. There are a couple of exemptions from the asset test, for example, your principal residency on up to two hectares is exempt from the asset test. Based on your income and asset test, you may qualify for the full rate of Age Pension or a partial rate of Age Pension. For the majority of current retirees, the bulk of their retirement income comes from the Government Age Pension, either the full rate or a partial rate. As we saw earlier, the full Age Pension doesn't meet the income for the modest lifestyle. So, this is where your other assets and in particular, your super account becomes an important component of your retirement income. Your super account can be used to top up your Age Pension payments or provide the level of income you desire. Super is a tax-concessional retirement savings vehicle, to the point that once you turn 60, any income paid from your super account is tax-free. And once you've retired, if your super is transferred to a retirement income account, an account based pension, any earnings on your account are tax-free. It's important to note there are limits on when you can access your super and just how much of your super can be tax-free. Other sources of retirement income could come from your savings or any other investments that you may hold, which could be shares, property or managed funds, for example. All of these sources combine to make up your total retirement income needs. Through the financial planning process, we can look at how you can maximise the combination of these sources to provide you with the most effective income in retirement.

Super could form a major part of your retirement income. So, it's important to understand when you can access your super. There is an age restriction on when you can access your super funds. This is known as your preservation age. Your preservation age indicates the earliest age that you can access your superannuation under normal circumstances. Your preservation age is determined based on your date of birth. And you will see from the table that if you were born before 1 July 1960, your preservation age was 55. If your date of birth is 1 July 1964 or after, your preservation age is 60. Between these two dates, your preservation age increases annually. In addition to reaching your preservation age, to access your super, you need to have permanently retired, or want to transition to retirement whilst you're still working, or have changed jobs on or after turning 60, or you have turned 65 even if you are still working. We find that your preservation age is often confused with the Age Pension qualifying age, which is in fact different. The Government Age Pension qualifying age is different to your preservation age, although both are based on your date of birth. You can see from the table, the Government Age Pension qualifying age increases in line with your age. For example, if you were born before 1 July 1952, you would have qualified for the Age Pension from age 65. If your date of birth is after 1 January 1957, your eligibility for the Age Pension will occur when you turn 67. Between these dates, the Age Pension qualifying age increases incrementally. And you can have a look at the table and the dates of birth and work out just what your Age Pension qualifying age will be.

Phil, after looking at how much income you need to fund your lifestyle, what else should be considered?

This is a great question. A big consideration for us is how long should your money last? In 2020, the average life expectancy increased to an average of 83.2 years. So we are, on average, living longer than ever before. And this is thanks to better nutrition, public health, and medical advances. However, living longer also means you might need your money to last longer as well. Life expectancy calculators use a lot of data to estimate how long you might live. So, it can give you an indication of just how many years to prepare to spend in retirement. But it's important to remember that these are averages and can't predict how long you will actually live. So, it might be better to estimate that you will live longer than average when calculating your retirement income needs. For example, a male who is 65 today has an average life expectancy of 85, whilst a female at age 65 today has a life expectancy of 88.

One way you can estimate how long your superannuation could last, is to use our super projection calculator. This tool is available at australiansuper.com/super-projection-calculator and it allows you to estimate your super balance at retirement and the income this could provide you. Simply enter your details including your income, your age, and your super balance. Based on contributions going in from your employer and your investment earnings, it will project your super balance at retirement and the income this could provide through to or beyond your life expectancy. You can also input the amount of income that you would like to draw down in retirement and see how long your super may last. Then you could see what putting a little into your super could mean for your retirement income. This is a great tool to use to give you an idea of what your retirement could look like. I encourage you to take a look at the super projection calculator today to start visualising your retirement.

We started this presentation with the question, do you need $1 million to retire? To work this out, let's have a look at the super projection calculator in action with Nick and Anne. They're both aged 58. Nick is earning $80,000 per year and has $180,000 in super. Anne is earning $70,000 per year and has $150,000 in super. So, between them, they currently have $330,000 in super. They also have $100,000 in assets outside of super. So, they're definitely not at that $1 million stage, and they're planning to retire at age 67, which is in nine years’ time. Let's have a look at Nick and Anne's situation, projected up to the point of their retirement at age 67.

These figures are discounted to today's dollar values. They now have a balance of over $560,000 in today's dollars. And the target yearly income in retirement is the ASFA retirement standard for a comfortable lifestyle. There's a few things to look at here. We have the dark orange bar, and that is the income coming from Nick's super account. He's put it into a retirement income stream and he's drawing an income. We then have Anne's super account, which is the lighter orange bar. She has done the same and put her super into an income stream. The blue line that runs across the top represents their comfortable retirement income goal. The light and dark blue bars represent the Government Age Pension that Nick and Anne will receive from age 67. As they start spending and therefore reducing some of their super, the Age Pension amount increases. What this shows is that while you still have some super or other income sources, the Age Pension can potentially balance your income out. As these super balances reduce, the amount of Age Pension they're eligible for increases. By using both their super balances and their Age Pension, they achieve their income goal past their life expectancy, and their super eventually runs out at age 89. From age 89, they are reliant solely on the Age Pension. But that shows that with a total super balance of around $560,000 in today's dollars, they have achieved a comfortable lifestyle beyond their life expectancy until age 89. Now that may be different for you. You may want a different level of income in retirement, and you can review this with a super projection calculator to look at your situation.

So, Phil, does someone really need $1 million to retire?

In answering this question based on what we saw with Nick and Anne, no, they actually don't. Nick and Anne were able to retire comfortably and have the lifestyle they want through to the age of 89 without a million dollars. However, this is dependent on your circumstances and what's important to you. 

So, what are the steps you can take today to help you on your journey to retirement? You can start with a budget and work from there to see what you might want your retirement to look like. Complete that budget, track your spending, summarise it and identify just where you are spending your money. Doing so can be very rewarding and you might identify some small savings that you can put towards your retirement goals. Check out the super projection calculator at australiansuper.com/super-projection-calculator to see if you're on track for your retirement goals. And visualise what your retirement income could look like. Consider where your retirement income may come from and the different sources. Your super, the Government Age Pension and your personal savings and assets. Super has some fantastic tax advantages, but you may have other investments that could also provide income in retirement.

Phil, you spoke about your role earlier as a Financial Planner. Can you give us an overview of the role financial advice can play in understanding retirement needs?

It's never too early or too late to get financial advice. Seeking advice can help you get a plan in place and on the way to achieving your retirement goals. We'll consider things such as maximising your current income, reducing tax, increasing contributions to super, focusing on any non-deductible debt, reviewing your risk profile, and start to visualise what you want your retirement to look like for you.

Now, AustralianSuper has a range of help and advice options. How can someone determine which option is best suited to their circumstances?

AustralianSuper aims to provide help and advice to members as they need it. And we do this in three main ways. Online via our website, which has a range of tools and calculators and information about AustralianSuper and super in general. You can speak with an advice team member over the phone for simple personal advice, covering topics relating to your AustralianSuper account, such as your investment options, making contributions to super, insurance, and retirement income options. This advice is provided at no additional cost to members. It is included in the member fee that we all pay. So, I would suggest that to get the best value from your AustralianSuper membership, it makes sense to seek advice as you need it. I will just note that phone advice for retirement or transition to retirement has a small fee. For those members that would prefer to meet with an adviser or maybe have more complex issues, AustralianSuper also offers access to Financial Planners based in our offices around Australia. This advice is usually provided with face-to-face or virtual meetings. This financial advice service is at a member's own expense. You can also access advice in your local area with a registered Financial Adviser. You can find all of the advice options through our Find an Adviser tool.

It has been a pleasure to discuss with you today and help to answer the question, do you need $1 million to retire? We wish you all the best on your financial journey to your best possible retirement.

Your super savings may last 20 years or more when you retire. Some of your savings may even outlive you, so it's important to let us know where you want your money to go. The concept of beneficiaries can raise lots of questions. Who should I nominate? What happens to my super when I pass away? And, will it be taxed? Today, in our Estate planning and your super presentation, we're going to unpack this and discuss what happens to your super when you pass, and how you can ensure it passes to those you intend to receive your benefits. My name is Darryl Florance and I'm an Education Manager. Part of the Education Team here at Australian Super. Helping you better understand how super works is important and why we're here today. I've been working in super and financial services for over 35 years.

Today, I'm joined by AustralianSuper Financial Adviser, Daihla McGinty, who is going to help us understand how estate planning and your super work together. So, welcome Daihla. Can you please tell me how you help people, in particular, when it comes to their beneficiaries?

Thanks, Darryl. It's great to be here today. My role as a Financial Adviser is to help people with retirement planning, but it also includes things such as estate planning. This is a really important discussion to have with people to really understand what they'd like to happen, in the event that they passed away, to ensure that things get passed as per their wishes.

Before we start, it's important to understand that the information we're covering today is general financial advice, and it doesn't take into account your personal objectives, situation or needs. Before making a decision, consider if the information is right for you, and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement by visiting australiansuper.com/pds or by calling our national contact centre on 1300 300 273. It's important to note that investment returns are not guaranteed, and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

Through our discussion today, we'll look at what's included in an estate plan. We'll look at the rules around nominating beneficiaries, including who can be nominated. Then we'll work through the tax implications of different beneficiaries, and how this could be factored into your decisions. And, finally, the next steps you could take following today's presentation. In our roles, we meet a lot of different people and one of the most common things we hear is, "It's okay, I have a will. I don't need to worry about my beneficiaries." Now this is not necessarily the case. Before you start planning your estate, it's important to understand the way different assets are treated and the options available to you. Making sure your assets go to the right people after you pass is not always as simple as stating your wishes in your will. How your property and assets are distributed may depend on a number of factors. Many people think super forms a part of their estate. This is actually a misconception, and, in fact, your super isn't considered part of your estate and, therefore, not subject to the terms of your will. Therefore, it's important to ensure you have an estate plan plus nominated beneficiaries listed on your super account. We'll unpack this area in today's presentation. Daihla, can you please tell us what estate planning is, and what people should consider as part of their estate plan?

Estate planning involves the transfer of wealth between yourself and your chosen beneficiaries. Having a valid will in place is just one aspect of estate planning, however, having that will in place, can give you comfort and peace of mind to know that your wishes can be followed in the event of your death. A will is a legal document that sets out how you want assets that you own to be distributed when you pass away. You must have both legal and mental capacity to be able to make a valid will. If someone dies without a will, they die intestate. Being intestate means that the laws of the state or territory they live in will decide how their estate is administered. This highlights how important a will is to ensure your wishes are met. Then there are enduring powers of attorney, financial or medical, and enduring powers of guardianship. Again, different states have different rules in regards to these items. A power of attorney or enduring power of attorney can give you the peace of mind knowing that your affairs can continue to be taken care of in the event that you are not in a position to make certain types of decisions yourself. For example, this can include situations when you're overseas or incapacitated. There are a variety of powers of attorney available. The ones that are appropriate for you will depend on your circumstances, and what decisions you think are important in the event that you are unable or unavailable, to make those decisions yourself. A letter of wishes, also known as a statement of wishes, is an informal document that accompanies your will. A letter of wishes help to explain your will and make it easier for your executor to administer your estate, than if they just had your will to go by. It's not legally binding and it's much easier to make changes to than your official will. A health directive is a legal document that enables you to make decisions, now, about the treatment you would want, or not want to receive, if you ever became sick or injured and were incapable of communicating your wishes. In such circumstances, your health directive effectively becomes your voice. Finally, there are beneficiary nominations to ensure your super passes as per your wishes.

It's important to let your super fund know what you want to happen to your super in the event of your passing. And there are a few options when deciding what happens to your money. You can nominate a beneficiary in two ways, binding or non-binding. Once retired you also have another option, to nominate a reversionary beneficiary to continue to receive your regular pension payments. Daihla, can you please explain these types of beneficiary nominations?

For a binding nomination, you provide formal written direction to AustralianSuper to tell us who you want your account balance, including any applicable insurance, paid to, so that it's legally binding. A binding nomination comes into effect from the date we accept it and expires three years from the date you sign the form, as long as the nominees remained valid beneficiaries. You can set up or change your binding nomination by completing a valid Binding death benefit nomination form. A binding nomination instructs AustralianSuper how to pay your death benefit if you die. As long as it's valid, your nomination is legally binding and we must follow it. This is why it's important to consider changing or cancelling your binding nomination, if your circumstances change, so that your benefit will be paid in line with your current wishes.

For a non-binding beneficiary, you nominate who you'd prefer your account to be paid. However, your nomination is not legally binding, and although your super fund consider who you choose, ultimately, they are legally responsible and will need to consider relevant laws when making a decision. You can make a non-binding nomination by completing the Change my details form available at australiansuper.com/factsheets through your online account at any time, or by calling us on 1300 300 273.

Finally, if you have a pension account, you can nominate a reversionary beneficiary. A reversionary beneficiary will receive regular income payments from your account until the account balance reaches zero. You can set up or change your reversionary nomination by completing a valid Reversionary benefit nomination form.

When nominating a beneficiary, it's important to understand who you can nominate. So, who can you nominate? You can nominate your spouse or partner. A spouse includes legally married spouses or de facto spouses. A spouse can be a person you're legally married to but estranged from or separated from. So, if you haven't formally ended a marriage, your husband or wife is still considered your dependent under superannuation law. And while you can't be legally married to two people, it's still possible to have two spouses. A legally married spouse and a de facto spouse. Your child, of any age. A child includes an adopted child or a stepchild, even though a stepchild is included in the definition of a child, if you end the relationship with the natural parent or the natural parent dies, the child is no longer considered your stepchild. However, they may still be considered a financial dependant, or in an interdependency relationship with you, and could, therefore, continue to be a beneficiary of your super. Interdependants which is someone who lives with you and shares a close personal relationship, where one or both of you provide financial and domestic support, and personal care of the other. A financial dependant, generally, a person is financially dependent on you if the level of support you provide them is necessary and relied upon, so that if they don't receive it, they would be severely disadvantaged rather than merely unable to afford a higher standard of living. And, finally, you can nominate your estate or your legal personal representative. This will mean your super benefits could be paid as per the intentions of your will.

When we talk about dependants, they are actually two different dependants. A dependant under super legislation, known as the Superannuation Industry Supervision Act, or SIS Act, meaning who is eligible to be a beneficiary of the super benefits, and a dependant for tax purposes, meaning, who can receive the benefits tax-free. The SIS Act determines who can get your super directly from your super fund without having to go through your estate, these are your SIS dependants. Tax law determines who pays tax on the taxable component of any such payment. Tax dependants receive your super tax-free. A current spouse is considered a SIS dependant, so can receive your super benefits directly, and also receive these benefits tax-free. A former spouse is not considered a SIS dependant, so is unable to receive the super benefits directly from the super fund, but if they did receive the benefits via an estate, they could receive these benefits tax-free. A child under 18 is considered a SIS dependant, so it can receive your super benefits directly, and also receive these benefits tax-free. A child over 18, who is not a financial dependant, is considered a SIS dependant, so can receive your super benefits directly, but they are not considered a tax dependant and, therefore, would be required to pay tax on the taxable components of the super benefits. A financial dependant and an interdependant are considered a SIS dependant, so they can receive your super benefits directly, and also receive these benefits tax-free.

When we talk about tax potentially being payable on the death benefits, it's important to understand what that means. The taxation of death benefits from super varies depending on many factors, including tax components within the account, which are tax-free and taxable, whether the beneficiary is a dependent for tax purposes, which we've just discussed, whether the amount is taken as a lump sum or an income stream, and, in some cases, the age of the deceased and a beneficiary. For reversionary pensions, consideration may also need to be given to the introduction of the transfer balance cap for larger account balances. Daihla, can you please explain in more detail what the tax components are?

The tax-free component of a super account includes the following: after-tax contributions, Government co-contributions, and any tax-free component of a rollover from another super fund. Whilst the taxable component is the total of the following: employer contributions, salary sacrifice contributions, personal contributions where a tax deduction was claimed, and any investment earnings. Whilst the entire tax-free portion of the benefit is received with no tax payable, there can be tax payable on the taxable component of the total benefit. The tax payable is 15% plus the Medicare levy.

Let's take a look at an example of the implications of the tax payable with John and his family. John is 60 and married to Laura, 58. They have a son, Ben, who is 20, currently studying at uni and financially dependent. They have a daughter, Meg, who is 28 and married. Meg has a daughter, Ava, aged 4, who is John's granddaughter. Sadly, John passes away, and has a total super death benefit of $400,000. This is made up of 100% taxable component. Daihla, let's assume that the full $400,000 is paid to just one of John's family members. What are the tax implications if the full amount is paid to each of his family members?

As Laura is his spouse, she is considered a SIS dependant and she can receive the full super death benefits directly, and also receive these benefits tax-free. Ben, a financially dependent child, is also considered a SIS dependant, so he can receive the full super death benefits directly, and also receive these benefits tax-free. On the other hand, Meg, a child over 18, who is not financially dependent, is considered a SIS dependant, so she can receive these benefits directly, but Meg is not considered a tax dependant, and, therefore, would be required to pay tax on the taxable component of the super benefits. This is 15% plus the Medicare levy on the $400,000 benefit. Meaning if she received the full benefit, there would be tax payable of $68,000. Finally, Ava, who's John's granddaughter, is not a financial dependant, so would not be eligible to receive the benefit and is not a tax dependant either, so would have to pay tax on the benefits. However, if Ava was a financial dependant, for example, if she lived with her grandparents, she could be dependent for both super and tax purposes. So, this highlights the importance of planning when deciding on who your beneficiary should be.

Daihla, are there considerations or strategies available to help people plan and reduce the tax implications?

Absolutely, Darryl, there are a number of strategies that we can implement to help minimise or reduce the amount of tax payable. What's important to understand though, is everybody's situation is different. So, I would strongly suggest that you seek some personal financial advice if you wish to explore this area in more detail.

Thanks, Daihla. You've certainly highlighted just how important it is to plan and consider all of the options when nominating beneficiaries. Today, you've made the first step in planning and preparing by attending our presentation. However, there are some other steps that you can take. First, you can nominate or review your super beneficiaries factoring in what we've covered today, including who you can nominate and who qualifies as a tax dependant. You should consider legal advice on your estate planning requirements, including wills, power of attorney, and any other areas that may be applicable to your situation. And you should consider seeking financial advice. Like Daihla mentioned, there are strategies that may be appropriate to you that could potentially reduce the tax implications, but advice may also provide you with a peace of mind when making decisions.

Daihla, AustralianSuper has a range of financial advice options. How can someone determine which option may be best suited to their circumstances?

AustralianSuper aims to provide help and advice to members as they need it, and we do this in three main ways. Online via our website, which has a range of tools and calculators, and information about AustralianSuper and super in general. You can speak with an advice team member over the phone for simple personal advice, covering topics relating to your AustralianSuper account, such as, your investment options, making contributions to super, insurance, and retirement income options. This advice is provided at no additional cost to members. Its cost is included in the member fee we all pay. So, I would suggest that to get the best value from your AustralianSuper membership it makes sense to seek advice as you need it. I will just note that the phone advice for retirement or transition to retirement has a small fee. For those members that prefer to meet with an adviser or maybe have more complex issues, AustralianSuper also offers access to Financial Planners based in our offices around Australia. This advice is usually provided with face-to-face or via virtual meetings. This financial advice service is at members' own expense. You can also access advice in your local area with a registered Financial Adviser. You can find all of the advice options through our Find an Adviser tool on our website.

Thanks again, Daihla, for your insights today, and explaining the finer details of beneficiaries, the tax implications, and how important it is to plan and prepare. By attending today's session, you've already taken a step in understanding how estate planning and your super work together, how you can evaluate the most appropriate beneficiaries, and what the tax implications are, and the next steps you can take today. Thanks for joining us, and we wish you all the very best on your financial journey.

When you think about your retirement and how you're going to fund it, you may only consider your super balance. But around 62% of Australians over the age of 65 receive a part or full Government Age Pension payments, and the two can work together to support you in retirement. These extra payments can support your super and help you manage your retirement budget. The balance between super and the Age Pension is different for everyone, but understanding both can help you feel more confident about your retirement.

My name is Claire and I'm an Education Manager at AustralianSuper. My job is to help you better understand how super works and I have been working in financial services for over 14 years. I'm joined today by AustralianSuper Financial Planner Kevin Moore to help us understand how your super and the Government Age Pension can work together. Welcome Kevin, can you please tell me how you help people, in particular, when it comes to their retirement and the Age Pension?

Thanks, Claire. My job as an AustralianSuper Financial Planner is to assist AustralianSuper members and would be members to get their best possible financial outcome, and for most people, that's their best possible retirement outcome. It's a fact of life that most Australian retirees will get a part or full Centrelink pension, so it's an integral part of any planning that we do to make sure that any of our AustralianSuper members who are looking at retirement to see whether they're eligible for any benefits, and for us to assist them to maximise those benefits, if possible.

Before we start, it is important to understand that the information we are covering today is general financial advice, and doesn't take into account your personal objectives, situation or needs. Before making a decision, consider if the information is right for you and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement by visiting australiansuper.com/pds or by calling 1300 300 273. Also, it's important to note that investment returns are not guaranteed, and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

Most people attending today may have some understanding of the Age Pension and how it works. It is a regular fortnightly income payment from the Australian Government to provide financial support to retirees, and it is subject to a range of eligibility criteria, including your age, your assets, and your income levels. But most importantly, it can work together with your super to top up your retirement income. A common question we often hear is, do I have to wait until my super runs out entirely before I can apply for the Age Pension? And the answer to this is usually no, you can still have a super balance and other assets and income and apply for the Age Pension, as long as it's within the income and assets test limits, which we will cover today.

As I've mentioned, your level of income and the value of your assets affect the payment rate of your pension. There are different Age Pension rates for singles, couples, and homeowners. If you're in a couple, whether you're married, separated, or living with a de facto partner, can also affect your payment rate. Generally, Services Australia will consider you to be in a couple if you're married, in a registered relationship, or in a de facto relationship. From the 20th of September 2021, the maximum fortnightly Age Pension payments are $1,458.60 combined for a couple, or $729.30 each, and $967.50 for a single person. When looking to apply for the Age Pension, the first factor when it comes to eligibility is your age and residential status. When it comes to super, retirement and the Age Pension, there are two important numbers you need to be aware of, your preservation age for super and your Age Pension qualifying age. Kevin, can you please step us through these two important considerations?

Super could form a major part of your retirement income, so it's important to understand when you can access it. Your preservation age is the minimum age you must reach before you can access your super, and it varies depending on the year you were born. In addition to reaching your preservation age, to access your super, you need to have permanently retired, or want to transition to retirement while you're working, or have changed jobs on or after turning 60, or have turned 65, even if you're still working. You will see from the table that if you were born before the 1st of July 1960, your preservation age was 55. That gradually increases up to age 60 for those who were born after the 1st of July 1964. We find that preservation age is often confused with the Age Pension qualifying age, which, in fact, is quite different. If you're eligible for the Age Pension, you will be able to apply for it when you reach your qualifying age. As you can see, your qualifying age is higher than your preservation age. That means that even if you've reached the age you can access your super, you may be a number of years away from being eligible to receive the Age Pension. The Age Pension qualifying age increases in line with your age. For example, if you were born before the 30th of June 1952, you would have qualified for the Age Pension from age 65. If you were born on or after the 1st of January 1957, your eligibility for the Age Pension will occur when you turn 67. Between these dates, the Age Pension qualifying age increases incrementally. You can work out from the table when you will be eligible for an Age Pension.

In most cases, being eligible for the Age Pension means being an Australian resident who has lived in Australia for at least 10 years. You must have lived in Australia for at least five years consecutively. You also need to be in Australia on the day you apply for the Age Pension. If you're not an Australian resident, there are some circumstances in which you could be eligible for the Age Pension. For example, those who have lived or worked in a country that has a social security agreement with Australia, and refugees. If you meet the age and residential requirements, your eligibility depends on two tests: an asset test and an income test.

As we've discussed, the value of your assets determines your eligibility for the Age Pension, as well as the payment rate you receive. To have the value of your assets determined, they're subject to what's called an assets test. Kevin, can you please explain what assets are assessable and which are exempt?

The asset test takes into account the value of the assets you own. This includes investments such as shares, cash, term deposits, bonds, includes super and retirement income accounts, yours and your partners, household contents, a car, property, although generally it doesn't include your principal home and up to two hectares of the land it's on. It's important to note that assets such as your household contents are the fire sale value, not the insured value. So, if you had a garage sale today and put everything you own on the front lawn, how much would you have in your hand at the end of the day? That is the value of your assets as considered by Centrelink. The test also considers assets that may not seem obvious. These include any deposits you may have paid on a granny flat or retirement village for the rest of your life and includes any gifts or assets you might have given to family members or friends. There are also assets that are exempt from the test, including your primary place of residence and surrounding land, up to two hectares on the same title. Some properties larger than two hectares on the same title, in some circumstances. It includes super accounts if under Age Pension age. So, for example, if your spouse or partner is under the Age Pension age, their super would not be assessed by Centrelink. And it also includes funeral bonds and cemetery plots. It's also important to understand the rules around gifting. The first thing regarding gifting is if you want to give money away or help out a loved one, you can. It's your money, you can do what you want with it. However, if you are receiving the Age Pension, it can impact on how much you may receive. It is considered gifting when someone gives away an asset or assets, or transfers, or sells an asset for a value that is less than market value. There are some allowable limits where you can gift without it adversely impacting your Age Pension payment. This is $10,000 per year, but not more than $30,000 over a five-year period. If you're a couple, that $10,000 and $30,000 is for both of you, not as individuals. After five years, the gifted amount is no longer assessable. The asset test has different thresholds for singles and couples, and whether you're a homeowner or a non-homeowner. If assets are below the lower threshold, you're eligible for the full Age Pension under the assets test. As the value of your assets increase, the amount of pension decreases. If your assets are over the upper threshold, you will not be eligible for the Age Pension. For example, a single homeowner would be eligible for a full Age Pension with assets below $270,500. Between that amount and $593,000, they could be eligible for a part Age Pension. Above that upper amount, they would not be eligible for any Age Pension payment.

For many Australians, measuring income isn't as simple as just looking at a payslip. Income can come from a variety of sources, such as investments and interest on savings. When it comes to the Age Pension, your combined income has to be under a certain limit for you to be eligible for payments, similar to the assets test. To assess your Age Pension eligibility in relation to the income test, the Government looks at your total earnings across all your income streams. This total income value along with your total asset value will determine if you're eligible for the pension, and how much your pension payments will be. Just like the asset test, the income test has different thresholds for singles and couples. If your income is below the lower threshold, you are eligible for the full Age Pension. As your income increases, the amount of pension decreases. If your income is over the upper threshold, you become ineligible for the Age Pension. For example, as at September 2021, a couple combined could be eligible for a full Age Pension with a total income below $8,320 per year. Between that amount and $84,167.20 per year, they could be eligible for a part Age Pension. Beyond that amount, they would no longer be eligible for any Age Pension. The income test looks at all income sources. This includes employment income, wages you might earn from working, or money you might receive from businesses you own. It also looks at investment income. This include your super and income created from financial assets, such as savings accounts, managed investments, and shares. Income sources exempt from the test include rental assistance payments, child support, emergency relief payments, and regular payments from a close relative.

To assess the income from your investments, the Age Pension income test uses a set of rules known as deeming. Deeming works by assuming your financial investments are earning a certain amount of income, rather than considering what they're actually earning. The rate your investments are deemed to be earning is set by the Government and is known as the deeming rate. For example, for a single person, the first $53,600 in investment assets have a deeming rate of 0.25% applied, and any asset value above that amount, they have a deeming rate of 2.25% applied. When you compare this to your potential super returns, you could actually be earning more on your super or account based pension than the deeming rate that is applied.

There are a couple of other considerations and strategies that come into play if you are receiving or hoping to receive the Age Pension or are retired. Kevin, can you briefly explain what some of these are?

One of those considerations is the Work Bonus. I find many people get asked to come back and help out at work on a casual basis after they retire, or even find that they miss the social aspect that work brings. The Work Bonus refers to an exempt allowable amount of earned income from work, which includes self-employment for Age Pensioners. The first $300 per fortnight is exempt from the income assessment and can accrue for up to 12 months. This can be really helpful if you get asked to go back to work for a couple of weeks, as you can potentially do this with no impact to your Age Pension payment. There is also the Pension Loan Scheme, which is a voluntary reverse equity mortgage that offers older Australians a fortnightly income stream to supplement their retirement income. It draws down on equity in property owned in Australia. The loan can be repaid in full or part at any time. The full amount of the loan plus interest owed at the time of death of the person will be recovered from the person's estate. Where I find this type of scheme is helpful is people who have not been able to accumulate much in super and need more than the current full Age Pension to meet their income needs.

For those members that are not eligible for the Age Pension, there is the consideration of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Care card. This entitles the holders to concessions and discounts on everyday items to reduce the living expenses of retirees, and therefore reducing the need to draw on their retirement funds. This is income-tested, but not assets-tested. The majority of people I see that aren't eligible for the Age Pension are mostly able to qualify for this card, due to the current low deeming rates. Furthermore, those who have not yet reached their qualifying age may be eligible to claim the Low Income Health Care card. Checking eligibility for these types of concession cards are part of the advice process.

Although not an Age Pension or Government benefit, the downsizer contribution is a very useful strategy for retired or older Australians. If you're 65 or over and sell a property that has been your main residence for 10 or more years, you could be eligible to contribute to super via a downsizer contribution. This may be suitable if you want to sell your home and use any surplus funds to boost your retirement savings. You can add up to $300,000 per person into super, regardless of your work status, super balance, or what you've already contributed under the ordinary concessional and non-concessional contribution caps. However, one area to be aware of is that moving funds from a non-assessable asset for the Age Pension into an assessable asset may have implications for your Age Pension payment. It's also important to note that the contribution needs to be made within 90 days of settlement, so it might be worthwhile to seek advice prior to ensure that this is appropriate and has been planned before settlement.

If you're eligible for the Age Pension and approaching retirement age, you don't have to spend all your super before you're eligible for pension payments. You can draw payments from your super to top up any Government pension payments you're entitled to. You can do this by setting up an account based pension from your super. AustralianSuper's account based pension is called a Choice Income account.

As I mentioned earlier, a common question we're often asked is, do I have to wait until my super runs out entirely before I can apply for the Age Pension? To look at this in action, we're going to take a look at Sally's situation. Sally is 66 years of age and is retiring now. Sally has a super balance of $500,000. She also has $100,000 in assets outside of her super, which will be assessed by Centrelink. She would like an income of $40,000 per year in retirement. Using our Super Projection Calculator, we can have a look at how Sally's super could work together with the Age Pension.

So, let's have a look at Sally's situation. The graph here demonstrates Sally's retirement outcome, with the orange bar being the income received from Sally's super income stream, and the blue bar being Sally's annual Age Pension benefit. The blue line that runs across the top represents her income goal of $40,000 per year. In year one at age 66, Sally is not eligible for the Age Pension as she exceeds the assets test limits, so she's fully reliant on her super. These funds deplete slightly, meaning she dips under the assets test threshold in year two and receives a small part Age Pension. Over time, as Sally uses more of her super savings, her Age Pension entitlement increases, meaning she draws less and less from her super to fund her living expenses. Visually you can see this with the orange bar gradually becoming smaller over time, and the blue bar becoming larger. This means, as time goes on, she receives a higher Age Pension benefit. Her super will then last her until 95 years of age, 10 years beyond her life expectancy of 85. From 95, she will be solely reliant on the Age Pension benefits.

This example gives us a clear picture of how the Age Pension and super can work together, and how your eligibility can change over time. This is something you can continue to review and revisit to ensure you maximise your entitlements if and when you are eligible. You can learn more about the Age Pension and the rules that are applied at servicesaustralia.gov.au/agepension To understand more about how your super savings and the Age Pension can work together, please visit australiansuper.com/agepension And finally, to see what your retirement outcome could be, please visit the AustralianSuper Super Projection Calculator. Kevin, you spoke about your role earlier as a Financial Planner, can you give us an overview of the role financial advice can play in the journey to retirement?

It's never too early or too late to get financial advice. We help people when they reach Age Pension age, when there may be some opportunities to maximise Age Pension payments. Maybe you've received estate proceeds or considering downsizing your home. We will consider all of these strategies and any concessions or benefits you may be entitled to.

AustralianSuper has a range of financial advice options. How can someone determine which option may be best suited to their circumstances?

AustralianSuper aims to provide help and advice to members as they need it, and we do this in three main ways. Online via our website, which has a range of tools and calculators, and information about AustralianSuper and super in general. You can speak with an advice team member over the phone for simple personal advice, covering topics related to your AustralianSuper account, such as your investment options, making contributions to super, insurance and retirement income options. This advice is provided at no additional cost to members. Its cost is included in the member fee that we all pay. So, I would suggest that to get the best value from your AustralianSuper membership, it makes sense to seek advice as you need it. I will just note that the phone advice for retirement or transition to retirement has a small fee. For those members that would prefer to meet with an adviser or maybe have more complex issues, AustralianSuper also offers access to Financial Planners based in our offices around Australia. This advice is usually provided with face-to-face or virtual meetings. This financial advice service is at members' own expense. You can also access advice in your local area with a registered Financial Adviser. You can find all the advice options through our Find an Advisor tool.

Thank you for taking the time to attend today's presentation to look at how the Age Pension can work with your super, the eligibility criteria, and some of the other strategies and considerations that may be available to you as you navigate your retirement. Thank you, and we wish you all the best on your financial journey.