Call UsAccessing your super early
If you cannot work due to illness or injury sustained during a period of employment and you have Income Protection (IP) insurance you may be eligible to claim. Work through the questions in the table below to find out or call us on 1800 680 627.
Find out more about Club Plus Super’s Income Protection Insurance here.
If you have unrestricted unpreserved benefits they can be paid to you at any time.
Typically you will only have these kinds of benefits if you have retired and chosen to leave money in your fund but there are other ways you can end up with them. You may have roll-overs of unrestricted non-preserved benefits from another super fund, had employment termination payments that were rolled into a super fund before July 2004 or simply turned 65.
You can check whether you have unrestricted non-preserved benefits in two ways:
- your annual member statement will clearly list them if you have them or;
- in MemberAccess – it’s easy to register if you have not logged in before.
If you find you have them and want to access them give us a call on 1800 680 627.
Superannuation is a long-term investment for income in your retirement. There are however a few special circumstances where, if you meet the criteria, you may be eligible to access your superannuation early.
These special circumstances are:
Early access to super due to COVID ceases on 31 December 2020.
Visit our COVID support page for more information.
There are strict rules around accessing your super early on the grounds of financial hardship. The rules are different depending on whether you have reached your preservation age.
If you have not reached your preservation age and have been receiving eligible government income support for at least 26 consecutive weeks you may qualify. There are limits on the minimum and maximum withdrawals and you can only make one application in a 12-month period.
If you have reached your preservation age and have been receiving eligible government income support for at least 39 weeks since reaching preservation age and are not in gainful employment you may qualify. There are different requirements but no limit on the amount you can withdraw.
Important considerations:
1.Your government benefits may decrease if you access your super
The government looks at your entire financial position when calculating your eligibility for entitlements - a payment from your super fund may make a difference to the amount of government benefit you are entitled to. Do your homework first - check with Centrelink.
2.You may have to pay tax on the super you withdraw
Depending on how old you are and whether you have given us your tax file number you may pay tax on the super you take out early. More information is on the ATO website.
3.You may be eligible on compassionate grounds
You might be able to apply for early access to your super on compassionate grounds.
To find out more, call Club Plus Super on 1800 680 627.
Complete the right form for your circumstances here.
You may be able to withdraw from your super based on compassionate grounds. This means you need money to pay for:
- medical treatment, medical transport or palliative care for yourself or a dependant,
- payment on a loan to prevent you from losing your home,
- modifying your home or vehicle, or buying disability aids for you or a dependant because of a severe disability, or
- funerals, burials or other death-related expenses.
When applying for early release on compassionate grounds you will only be provided the amount of money deemed reasonable to meet your obligations.
Applications for the release of super on compassionate grounds are assessed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). For more information, see here.
Members who are not citizens of Australia or New Zealand or a permanent resident of Australia and who have left Australia and their visa has either expired or been cancelled may apply for early release super. To apply:
- Complete the ATO’s online application You’ll need the Club Plus Super ABN 95 275 115 088. If you’re eligible the ATO will contact us directly.
- If you have $5,000 or more in your account or apply through an agent you’ll need additional documentation. We’ll contact you or your agent when this is required.
- Refer to the ATO website for the tax applicable to your super payout.
From 1 July 2018 qualifying members can access their voluntary superannuation contributions for a first home deposit. This is only available if you have never owned real estate previously and intend to live in the home for at least six months. Find out more here.
Your super may be released to you if you are permanently incapacitated and unable to work or are terminally ill. Call us on 1800 680 627 for more information.
In addition as a Club Plus Super member you may have insurance to cover the events of Terminal Illness and Total and Permanent Disability as well as Income Protection. To find out if you have insurance inside your super account call 1800 680 627.
If you have a super fund and the balance is under $200 you can withdraw these funds when you have ceased working with the employer who paid those contributions into that fund.
No tax is deducted from balances under $200, regardless of your age. To do this call 1800 680 627.
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If you’re experiencing financial difficulty and need assistance with managing your money or growing your super, get in touch with our friendly member services team on 1800 680 627.