Account based pension

Convert your super into regular payments

If you have finally retired, an account-based pension allows you to draw a regular income from your super.

It's a simple, flexible and convenient way to convert your super into regular tax-effective payments. You can set how often and how much you wish to receive as a pension, as long as you receive at least one payment per year and your total annual payments are at least the minimum set by the Government.

The minimum amount is dependent on your age and calculated as a percentage of your account balance.

Age	Percentage
Under 65	4%
65 - 74	5%
75 - 79	6%
80 - 84	7%
85 - 89	9%
90 - 94	11%
95 or more	14%

For example:

Jane Smith is 64 and commencing a pension with $150,000.

The minimum payment Jane must receive is 4% x $150,000 = $6,000 per year

For the 2010/11 financial year, the Government has halved the minimum payments percentages shown above.

There is no withdrawal limit for account-based pensions. The entire pension balance can be withdrawn at any time.

An account-based pension could offer you these tax advantages.

No tax payable on investment earnings
No tax payable on the amount transferred to an account-based pension*
No tax payable from income received from an account-based pension for those 60 years and over.

If you are under age 60, tax will automatically be deducted from your regular pension payments on a ‘Pay As You Go' (PAYG) basis, in the same way tax was deducted from your salary when you were an employee. Provided you are aged 55 or over, you can claim a 15% rebate on most pension payments made to you (less any tax-free amount).

Questions?

To learn more about your pension options, visit the SMARTpension website, email memberservices@aesuper.com.au or call 1800 555 024 and we'll put you in touch with your local Member Services Consultant.

*except where that amount includes an untaxed element, then 15% is deducted from that amount.