What is the retirement age in Australia?
What is the retirement age?
There’s no one age that’s perfect for retirement. Often it comes down to asking yourself the big question: when can you afford to retire?
Many people time their retirement according to when they can access their super (known as the ‘preservation age’) or when they become eligible to apply for the government Age Pension.
What is the preservation age?
The preservation age in Australia is 60. Once you reach this age, you can access your super if you have:
- permanently retired from the workforce after turning 60
- ceased an employment arrangement after turning 60, or
- opened a Transition to Retirement pension account.
Once you turn 65 you can access your super even if you’re still working.
What is the Age Pension age?
In Australia, the Age Pension age is 67.
Once you reach this age, you may become eligible to receive financial support from the government in the form of Age Pension payments. These payments are designed to help older Australians who may need assistance with basic living expenses, like food and housing.
Not everyone is eligible to receive the Age Pension. It depends on your income, assets and residency status.
When should I retire?
What’s right for you will depend on how you want to spend your retirement, your health and wellbeing, and your financial situation.
Retirement planning
When you retire, you may rely on more than one source of income including super, personal investments and the government Age Pension.
Transition to retirement
Are you 60-64 and still working? A Transition to Retirement account lets you access some of your super as tax-free pension payments.
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