Transition to retirement with ease
Reached your preservation age and plan to continue working? A TTR Flexi Pension may be a great tax-effective option for you.
What are the benefits of a TTR Flexi Pension?
Tax Free
Your income payments are generally tax free if you’re 60 or over.
Flexible payments
Choose how much and how often you are paid (subject to minimum and maximum amounts).
Grow your super
Continue to grow your super because you’re still working.
How does the TTR Flexi Pension work?
The TTR Flexi Pension enables you to ease into retirement and is designed for those that have reached their preservation age and wish to continue working and receiving an income. There are a number of ways you can use your TTR Flexi Pension to help you transition to retirement.
Our retirement advice team can help you decide on how you use your TTR Flexi Pension to suit your needs.
Boosting your super through salary sacrifice
Meet Linda. Linda is 60 and has reached preservation age.
Linda plans to salary sacrifice part of her income to boost her super and pays 15% tax on her contributions (which is lower than her marginal tax rate).
Linda draws an income from the balance of her TTR Flexi Pension to ensure the money she receives as an income isn’t reduced.
This option works for Linda because it reduces the amount of tax she pays and leaves her with more money in her super account for when she fully retires.
Reducing work hours but keep the same income
Meet Jim. Jim is 60 and has reached preservation age.
Jim has decided he would like to wind back his working hours from 5 to 3 days a week.
To ensure he isn’t taking home less income due to his reduced working hours, Jim chooses to open a TTR Flexi Pension and creates an income stream from it to make up the difference.
Jim understands that this will ultimately reduce the size of his super balance for when he retires.
Increase your current income
Meet Ravi. Ravi is 62 and has decided he would like to increase his income from his current job by supplementing it with payments from his TTR Flexi Pension account.
Ravi decides to do this to help him pay off more of his mortgage before he fully retires.
Using his TTR Flexi Pension to supplement his current income means more money in Ravi’s pocket now, but it will reduce his super balance for when Ravi fully retires.
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Transition to Retirement (TTR) Flexi Pension Fees
Below are the ongoing annual fees and costs for the Balanced investment option for a TTR Flexi Pension.
For full details of our product fees, including how and when they're paid, read the Flexi Pension product disclosure statement (PDF, 3.1 MB).
Type of fee or cost Amount Administration fees and costs 1 Nil 2 Investment fees and costs 3, 4, 5 0.42% per year. Transaction costs 3, 4, 6 0.09% per year. -
Can a Defined Benefit Division (DBD) member open a TTR Flexi Pension?
If you’re a Defined Benefit Division (DBD) member and use your DBD component to open a TTR Flexi Pension, you’ll stop being a DBD member. We’ll close your DBD account and transfer any remaining super you have to an accumulation account. For more information, please refer to the Flexi Pension Product Disclosure Statement (PDF, 3.1 MB) or chat to our retirement advice team.
TTR Flexi Pension eligibility
To open a TTR Flexi Pension you must:
- be a current UniSuper member,
- have reached your preservation age,
- have at least $25,000 to start your TTR Flexi Pension, and
- leave at least $6,000 in your UniSuper accumulation account (different rules apply to DBD members).
Not a current UniSuper member? You can Join UniSuper in less than 10 minutes.
Apply for a TTR Flexi Pension
Download the Flexi Pension Product Disclosure Statement below and follow the steps provided to complete your application.
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Can a lump-sum withdrawal be made form a TTR Flexi Pension?
Making a lump-sum withdrawal from a Transition to Retirement (TTR) Flexi Pension can only be made under limited circumstances.
You can only make a lump-sum withdrawal from a TTR Flexi Pension to:
- access any unrestricted non-preserved benefits,
- split a payment under family law, or
- comply with an ATO release authority under income tax legislation.
Log in to your online account and make a TTR Flexi Pension withdrawal.
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How is a TTR Flexi Pension taxed?
There are two ways your TTR Flexi Pension can be taxed:
1. Tax on investment earnings
Investment earnings are taxed at up to 15%, like your other investment earnings in super.
2. Tax on payments and lump-sum withdrawals
When you’re under age 60, the taxable component of the income payments from your TTR Flexi Pension is included in your assessable income and taxed at your marginal tax rate.
When you’re aged 60 or over, the income payments and any lump-sum withdrawals from your TTR Flexi Pension are tax free.
Learn more about tax and your Flexi Pension or chat to our retirement advice team.
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What happens to my TTR Flexi Pension when I turn 65 or retire fully?
Once you reach age 65 (or have told us that you’ve met a condition of release that allows unrestricted access to your super — such as retiring from the workforce 7) your TTR Flexi Pension will become a Retirement Phase Flexi Pension, and you can make full or partial withdrawals from your balance as needed.
Remember the transfer balance cap
When you turn 65 or get full access to your super before you turn 65 (for example, when you retire), your Flexi Pension will be considered to be in ‘retirement phase’ and subject to the general transfer balance cap (currently $1.9 million).
For more information, refer to the Flexi Pension Product Disclosure Statement (PDF, 3.1 MB).
Learn more about approaching retirement
Tax and your retirement income account
Most UniSuper income payments are tax-free for everyone aged 60 and over. However, there may be cases where tax applies.
Steps to move into retirement
Our six-step guide and advice can help you assess your options, determine your budget and priorities, and support your transition into retirement.
Our advice team is here to help
Need help with your retirement journey? Our advice team are available to answer the questions you may have, over the phone or in-person at a member centre.
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Things you need to know
1 If your account balance is less than $6,000 at the end of UniSuper's income year, certain fees and costs charged to you in relation to administration and investment are capped at 3% of the account balance. Any amount charged in excess of that cap will be refunded.
2 A TTR Flexi Pension ceases to be paid under TTR rules once you have reached age 65 or notify us that you have satisfied a condition of release allowing unrestricted access to super prior to age 65. When a TTR Flexi Pension ceases to be paid under TTR rules, administration fees and costs and investment fees and costs will be charged as a standard Flexi Pension member as set out in the Flexi Pension PDS.
3 The investment fees and costs and transaction costs shown above are indicative only and are based on the investment fees and costs and transaction costs for the year ended 30 June 2023, including several components which are estimates. The actual amount you’ll be charged in subsequent financial years will depend on the actual fees and costs incurred by the Trustee in managing the investment option. Investment fees and costs include an amount of 0.03% for performance fees. The calculation basis for this amount is set out in the Flexi Pension PDS.
4 The investment fees and costs and transaction costs for other investment options are set out in the Flexi Pension PDS. They are calculated on the same basis, and paid at the same frequency and in the same manner as the Balanced investment option.
5 An Operational Risk Reserve (ORR) is funded out of investment-related charges which are included in the investment fees and costs for each option.
6 For the financial year ended 30 June 2024, the investment fees and costs for this option are expected to increase by 0.07%.
7 The definition of retirement in superannuation is specific and different definitions apply based on your age, so chat with us if you are unsure.