When you retire, you can choose to withdraw a lump sum or receive a regular income stream from your super – or a combination of the two.

A retirement income stream can be a simple and tax-effective way of receiving a regular income using your super savings. You can generally choose how much you receive and how often, depending on the type of retirement income stream.

• Account based pensions (also known as allocated pensions).
• Annuities.
• Defined benefit pensions (only available to some defined benefit members)¹.

Your income payments from super are tax-free if paid from a taxed super fund and you’re aged 60 or over.

With account based pensions, you can choose how your money is invested and any investment earnings you receive (including capital gains) are generally tax-free.

If you’ve got an annuity or defined benefit pension, the payments are usually guaranteed for a fixed period of time or life.

For account based pensions:

• It’s important to understand how long your income payments will need to last during retirement.
• Investment earnings will vary based on economic and market conditions.
• There’s a minimum amount you must withdraw each year.
• If you’re under age 60, both lump sum withdrawals and regular income payments may be subject to tax.
• A transition to retirement (TTR) pension is a type of account based pension that can be started with your super if you have reached age 60, but have not yet retired.

Generally, for annuities:

• You’re protected from negative market movements, and don’t benefit from any positive market performance.
• Once established, the amount and frequency of the income payments can’t be altered.