Looking forward to your retirement
Your super is intended to fund your retirement, so naturally, there are restrictions on when you can access your money.
Permanent retirement
You can access your super when you permanently retire after reaching your preservation age. This is set by the Australian Government and is based on your date of birth.
| Date of birth | Preservation age |
| Before 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 July 1964 on | 60 |
For the purpose of accessing your super, you are also considered retired when:
- you reach age 60 and then change jobs, or are not working at all or
- you reach age 65 (whether you are working or not).
Transition to retirement
You can also access your super as regular pension income (but not as lump sums) when you reach your preservation age, even if you are still working.
LGsuper offers a Transition to Retirement Pension account for this purpose.
Other limited circumstances
There are some situations where you can access your preserved super as a lump sum before retirement. These are:
- death
- terminal illness
- total and permanent disability
- failure of health (excludes employees of Brisbane City Council, Queensland Urban Utilities and other associated employers)
- temporary residents permanently leaving Australia (excluding NZ residents)
- severe financial hardship, as defined by the Australian Government
- compassionate grounds, approved by the Department of Human Services
Non-preserved benefits
Some super contributions and investment earnings made before 1 July 1999 may be accessible before you reach your preservation age. These amounts will be shown on your annual benefit statement as unrestricted non-preserved amounts that can be accessed at any time, or restricted non-preserved amounts that can be accessed when you leave your employer.
