Accessing your Super Benefit when aged between 55 and 59 and NOT "Retired"

If you are aged between 55 and 59 your Super Benefit is preserved until your retirement.  You can only access your Super Benefit as a Transition to Retirement Pension (TRAP) as detailed below when aged between 55 and 59 if you are NOT "retired".

Definition of "Retirement" when aged between 55 and 59

For a Member aged between 55 and 59 "retirement" means your employment ceases and you never intend to work again either on a full-time or part-time basis (defined as more than 10 hours per week).  This declaration must be made to your SMSF and is made at the time you cease work.  It is noted that whilst a Member aged between 55 and 59 never intends to work again, they may ultimately do so. This will not alter the Member's status as being retired enabling them to have access to their Super Benefit notwithstanding they have returned to work.  That is as long as the Member who is aged 55-59 genuinely believes that they will never work more than 10 hours a week in the future (believing that you will work less than 10 hours a week is acceptable) and signs a declaration to that effect, that Member will be considered "Retired".  It is important to note that reducing your hours with the same Employer to less than 10 hours per week rather than ceasing employment is not considered to be "Retired".

Pension withdrawals when aged between 55 and 59 and NOT "Retired"

When you are aged between 55 and 59 and are NOT "Retired" you have the option of commencing a Pension Income Stream from your SMSF.   A Pension simply means that periodically (eg each month or other period you nominate) cash is transferred from your SMSF Bank Account to your personal Bank Account SMSF to fund your living expenses.  There are two types of Pensions you can start in a SMSF namely a Simple Account Based Pension and a "Transition to Retirement Pension".  When you are aged between 55 and 59 and are NOT "Retired" you can only commence a Transition to Retirement Pension (TRAP). 

If you do decide to commence a TRAP from your SMSF and are aged between 55 and 59 and are NOT "Retired", then you must take a Minimum Pension Income per year.  Further details about the Minimum Pension amount can be found in the Pension Section of our website here.  If you commence a TRAP from your SMSF and are aged between 60 and 64 and NOT "Retired", there is a maximum annual pension drawdown of 10%.  Further details about commencing a Pension can be found here.

Taxation of Pension Withdrawals when aged between 55 and 59

Tax may be payable on Pension withdrawals by a Member aged between 55 and 59.  By way of background it is important to understand that your Super Benefit is made up of two components, namely a Tax Free Component and a Taxable Component.  The Tax Free Component typically comes from after tax personal Non Concessional Contributions made by you over time.   The Taxable Component typically comes from Concessional Contributions made by you over time which include Employer Contributions and Salary Sacrifice Contributions. 

Any Pension withdrawals must be paid in the same proportion as the Tax Free and Taxable Components of a Member's Super Benefit in the SMSF.  This requirement is known as the "Proportioning Rule".  Under the "Proportioning Rule" the process to calculate the tax on Pension Withdrawals paid to a Member who is aged between 55 and 59 is as follows:

Step 1: Determine the Tax Free Component of your Super Benefit
Step 2: Determine the Taxable Component of your Super Benefit
Step 3: Total of the Taxable and Tax Free Components
Step 4: Calculate the Tax Free Component percentage equal to Note 1 divided by Note 3
Step 5: Calculate the Taxable Component percentage equal to Note 2 divided by Note 3
Step 6:  Multiply the Pension Payment by the Tax Free percentage at Note 4.  The result is Tax Free.
Step 7:  Multiply the Pension Payment by the Taxable percentage at Note 5.  The result is taxed at the Members tax rate less a 15% Pension Rebate.

Example:

As an example assume you have a Super Benefit of $500,000 made up as follows:

In this example your "Tax Free" percentage is 80% ($400,000 / $500,000) and your "Taxable" percentage is 20% ($100,000 / $500,000).  Under the "Proportioning Rule" this means that 80% of your Pension withdrawals will be tax free and 20% will be taxable where the Pension withdrawals are made between the age of 55 and 59. 

Assume you withdraw the minimum pension of 4% per annum on your $500,000 Super Benefit (ie $20,000).  The Pension withdrawn of $20,000 will be 80% tax free (ie $16,000) and 20% taxable (ie $4,000).  In addition you will be allowed a 15% "Pension Rebate" on the taxable portion of the Pension withdrawn, further reducing your tax liability.

 In the above example assuming you are on the 31.50% personal marginal tax rate, you would be assessable on the $4,000 taxable portion of the Pension withdrawn at 31.50%, resulting in $1,260 in tax.  Given you also receive a 15% "Pension Rebate" on the taxable portion of the Pension withdrawn of $4,000 (ie 15% of $4,000 or $600), the tax liability is further reduced to only $660.  This means you pay tax of $660 on a $20,000 Pension withdrawal in the above example.

Timing of Pension Withdrawals income is important when turning 60

As detailed above no tax is payable on Pension Withdrawals after the age of 60, however some tax may be payable on Pension withdrawals made between age 55 and 59.  This means that where you are turning 60 in a particular financial year it may be financially advantageous to defer Pension withdrawals until you are over 60.

Example:

Assume you have commenced a Pension for $1,000,000 on 1 July 2011 and are 59 at the time.  On 10 March 2012 you will be turning 60.  Your Super Benefit is made up of a 100% Taxable Component.  You have nominated that you wish to take the Minimum Pension of 4% of your Super Benefit (ie $40,000).

If the Minimum Pension amount of $40,000 is taken before 10 March 2012, that is when you are aged 59, then the Pension will be taxed at your marginal tax rate less a 15% "Pension Rebate".  Assuming you are on the 46.50% personal marginal tax rate, you would be assessable on the $40,000 Pension withdrawn at 46.50%, resulting in $18,600 in tax.  Given that you also receive a 15% "Pension Rebate" on the taxable portion of the Pension withdrawn totaling $6,000 (ie 15% x $40,000), the tax liability is reduced to $12,600.  This means you will pay tax of $12,600 on the $40,000 Pension withdrawal in the above example.

Conversely by simply deferring accessing the Pension withdrawal until after 10 March 2012, when you turn 60, then the Pension withdrawn will be tax free!  The timing of the Pension Withdrawals in the example results in a tax saving of $12,600!   

Tax Savings when you commence a Pension

Given that minimal tax may be payable on Pension withdrawals when aged between 55 and 59, it may still be advisable to commence a Pension even when aged between 55 and 59, given you pay no tax on the earnings and realised capital gains on your Super Benefit within the SMSF.  However you will need to assess your own individual circumstances to determine if a Pension should be commenced.  To see the potential Tax Savings associated with commencing a Pension view our Case Study here.  To demonstrate the Tax Savings of commencing a Pension using your own personal circumstances click here to participate in our Interactive Pension Analysis and see how much tax you can save.

Lump Sum withdrawals when aged between 55 and 59 and NOT "Retired"

Lump Sum Withdrawals is simply an amount accessed from your SMSF that is not a Pension Payment.  You cannot make lump sum withdrawals from your SMSF when aged between 55 and 59 and NOT "Retired".

Not required to access Super Benefit when aged between 55 and 59 and NOT "Retired"

If you are aged between 55 and 59 and NOT "Retired" you are not required to access your Super Benefit as a TRAP.  The choice is entirely yours.  In fact you can let your Super Benefit accumulate in the super environment indefinitely.  It is noted it is may be tax advantageous to commence accessing your Super Benefit when aged between 55 and 59 as a TRAP.  This is because when you commence a TRAP you never pay tax on the income and capital gains on your SMSF Investments. However any monies you access as a Pension may be taxable as detailed above.

Contributions when aged between 55 and 59 and NOT "Retired"

If you are aged between 55 and 59 and NOT "Retired" you can still contribute to superannuation (no work test is required).

Interactive Analysis

To demonstrate the benefits of commencing a Pension using your own personal circumstances click here to participate in our Interactive "Pension Analysis" and see how much tax you can save.

To determine if it is possible to make Pension or Lump Sum Withdrawals from your SMSF and the taxation implications thereon using your own personal circumstances click here to participate in our Interactive "Super Access and Tax Analysis".