Proud winners of a Canstar 5-Star Rating for account based pension
What is an account based pension?
An account based pension is an alternative option to receiving super as a lump sum. Opening an account based pension means receiving regular income payments while your super stays invested – giving you the potential for more investment returns throughout your retirement.
With our account based pension – Choice Income – you can access extra money from your super whenever you need it.
Turn your super into a regular income
Receiving regular payments just like when you were working means you can enjoy your retirement. You can use the income paid from your Choice Income account to top up Government Age Pension payments you’re eligible for.
Flexibility and control
You can set up your account in a way that suits you with the amount and frequency of your income payments – you’re never locked in. You can withdraw extra money to pay for bills, holidays or other big ticket items any time.
Keep your super working for you
Keeping your money invested once you’re retired allows your savings to continuously grow. You can have peace of mind knowing that AustralianSuper has a history of long-term strong returns*.
Ready for the cherry on top?
When you move your AustralianSuper super account or TTR income account to Choice Income, you could be eligible to receive an additional credit to your retirement balance, a 'Balance Booster'.
Set up your account in a way that suits you
And the best part is your Choice Income account is flexible, so you can change your payment and investment options at any time.
Take it easy with Smart Default
Your payments and
investment options are pre-selected, modelled and managed by a trusted team of
investment experts, who specifically designed this option for Choice Income
members.
Setting up with Smart Default means
- you’re invested in 12% Cash and 88% Balanced investment option
- you receive at least 6% of your balance each year*
- you’ll get paid every two weeks.
Choose your own options
If you prefer, you also have the freedom to choose your own investment options, as well how often you receive income payments and how much those payments will be. You can set the payments as a fixed amount, or the minimum percentage of your account balance.
Choosing how often and how much income you want
- you must be paid at least once a year, or you can choose to be paid every two weeks, once a month, once every three months or twice a year, and
- you must be paid a minimum percentage of your account balance each year.
To get to know our options and how they can help you achieve your best retirement, head to our Your investment options page.
Important things to know about Choice Income
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Reduced minimum limits for super drawdown
As of 24 March 2020, the Government announced changes to temporarily reduce the super minimum drawdown requirements for account based pensions by 50% for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years.
You can get details on the ATO webpage Minimum annual payments for super income streams under the section ‘COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) – temporarily reducing superannuation minimum payment amounts’.
We’ll update you as more information becomes available.
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Before you open Choice Income
You’ll need a minimum balance of $50,000 to deposit into your new Choice Income account, and it’s important to note you can’t add money to a Choice Income account once you’ve opened it.
It’s a good idea to make sure you have all your money in one place before you start. We can help you consolidate your super before opening a retirement income account.
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Keep a little in super to keep your insurance
You’re not able to have insurance on a Choice Income account, so if you want to keep your insurance you may want to keep a balance of $10,000 in your super account. -
$1.6 million cap
There is a lifetime cap of $1.6 million for each individual that can be transferred from Super accounts to retirement income accounts.
The cap:
- includes the total amount transferred from any superannuation account to any of your retirement income accounts
- is managed by the Australian Taxation Office, so it includes money across any super fund, including defined benefit schemes
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When you can get started
When you reach your preservation age and have permanently retired, you can open your Choice Income account. You are also eligible to open an account if you change jobs on or after turning 60 or if you’ve turned 65 (even if you’re still working).
Date of birth Preservation age (years) 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 1 July 1964 or after 60
For more on eligibility please refer to the Choice Income Product Disclosure Statement.
I'd like to learn about...
Choice Income Product Disclosure Statement - pdf, 3.4MB
For people retiring and needing to draw an income from their savings in a tax-effective environment
^AustralianSuper received the Canstar 5-Star Rating for Outstanding Value Account Based Pension in 2019. Full methodology available here.
*Investment returns are not guaranteed. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.