Age retirement benefit

If you retire or resign after your minimum retirement age, (normally age 55 - see table below) you are entitled to the Age Retirement Benefit. Certain ‘prescribed class members’ may retire from age 50.

Retiring or Resigning after your minimum retirement age

This benefit provides you with a lifetime pension, paid fortnightly and indexed in line with increases in the CPI (for all capital cities).

The level of fortnightly retirement pension you receive will depend on:

• your Final Average Salary (FAS), 
• your age, 
• your recognised service, and 
• whether you choose one of the lump sum options.  

Benefits available to you upon retirement

Generally, all of your benefits will be available to you upon retirement. However, if you have not satisfied the conditions of release for the preserved lump sum portion of your benefit when you become eligible to receive your benefit, it will be held in a notional account earning interest at the fund’s crediting rate until we are able to pay it to you when a condition of release for preserved benefits is satisfied.

The preserved lump sum can either remain with ESSSuper or be rolled over to a complying superannuation fund i.e. ESSSuper's Accumulation Plan.

Preservation ages - lump sums

Date of birth	PreservationAge
Before 1 July 1960	55
1 July 1960 - 30 June 1961	56
1 July 1961 - 30 June 1963	57
1 July 1962 - 30 June 1963	58
1 July 1963 - 30 June 1964	59
From 1 July 1964	60

Are you over 65 years old?

If you turned age 65 prior to 1 July 2010, service after you reach age 65 is not taken into account when determining your retirement benefit. However, any salary increase will be reflected in your Final Average Salary.

Also, any benefit you have accrued in an Accumulation Plan account (including personal and employer Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions paid after you turned 65), can be paid as a component of your final benefit.

•  View the payment options for age retirement benefits