Preservation Age
The minimum age at which you can access your super savings, ranging from 55 to 60 depending on your date of birth.
Preservation age is the minimum age at which you can access your superannuation savings, provided you also meet a "condition of release" (such as retiring from the workforce). Preservation age depends on your date of birth: it is 55 for those born before 1 July 1960, gradually increasing to 60 for those born on or after 1 July 1964. Anyone born from 1 July 1964 onwards has a preservation age of 60.
Reaching preservation age alone is not enough to access your super — you must also satisfy a condition of release. The most common conditions are: reaching preservation age and permanently retiring, reaching age 60 and ceasing employment with an employer, or reaching age 65 (regardless of work status). Other conditions include permanent incapacity, terminal illness, severe financial hardship (subject to limits), and compassionate grounds (approved by the ATO).
Once you reach preservation age and retire, you can access your super as a lump sum, an account-based pension (income stream), or a combination of both. From age 60, super benefits from a taxed fund are completely tax-free. Between preservation age and 60, there are tax concessions but some tax may apply depending on the components of your benefit. Planning the timing and method of accessing super is a key part of retirement planning.
How it works
Preservation age is set by your date of birth: 55 if you were born before 1 July 1960, rising in stages up to 60 for anyone born on or after 1 July 1964. Reaching it is only half the requirement — you also need to satisfy a condition of release, most commonly permanently retiring after preservation age, ceasing employment with an employer after turning 60, or simply turning 65 regardless of your work status.
In practice, most retirement planning now centres on age 60, since that's the preservation age for everyone born after mid-1964 and it's also the age from which benefits paid from a taxed super fund become completely tax-free. Someone planning to stop work uses their preservation age and their intended condition of release together to work out when they can actually start drawing on their super.
There are earlier access routes outside the standard rules — severe financial hardship and compassionate grounds can allow limited access before preservation age under specific conditions. A common misconception is that reaching preservation age automatically means tax-free access: it doesn't. Between preservation age and 60, some components of a withdrawal can still attract tax even though access itself is permitted; the fully tax-free treatment only applies from age 60 onward.
Example: accessing super at different preservation ages
Someone born in May 1958 has a preservation age of 55. If they retire at 56, they can access their super balance, but because they're under 60, some components of what they withdraw may still be taxed depending on how the benefit is made up.
Someone born in December 1970, by contrast, has a preservation age of 60. If they retire at 60 having ceased employment with an employer after that birthday, their access isn't just permitted — because they've also reached 60, benefits paid from a taxed fund come out completely tax-free, a better result than the first example even though both met a broadly similar retirement condition.
Related Terms
Superannuation Guarantee (SG)
The compulsory minimum percentage of an employee's qualifying earnings (formerly ordinary time earnings) employers must contribute to their super fund.
Transfer Balance Cap
The maximum amount of super you can transfer into a tax-free retirement phase income stream — $2.1 million for 2026-27.
Concessional Contributions
Before-tax super contributions taxed at 15% inside the fund, including employer SG, salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions.
Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF)
A private super fund you manage yourself, with up to 6 members, offering full control over investment choices.