Retirement
Fully Retired Super Income Stream
A Fully Retired account gives a regular, flexible, tax-effective income for people over 60 who have retired, or anyone over 65.
Read more...Work less or save more. The choice is yours.
A Transition to Retirement Super Income Stream (TTR) is for people 60-64 years of age. It's a way to start accessing your super while you're still working.
What is a TTR account?
If you’re approaching retirement, you can use a TTR account to access your super. You can reduce the hours you’re working and use a TTR account to top up your take-home pay. Or, you can use it to save more for retirement.
Watch the video.
Read the transcript
You've worked hard for your super.
And now that you're in your last few years of work, we're here to help you make the most of it.
You're more familiar with the build-up phase of your super where money is regularly added to your fund and invested to increase your savings.
But the catch is that you can't access it without exceptional circumstances.
Transition to retirement is the time between the build-up and the retirement phase of super.
Based on your circumstances, it can help achieve various objectives.
One of those is providing an additional income.
Maybe you want to cut back on your work hours, or knock over your household debt before retiring.
That's where TTR can help.
Keep in mind that doing so may reduce your super.
But TTR can also help boost your super by letting you contribute more of your wage to your retirement savings, while allowing you to withdraw some of it as income.
It's often taxed lower than your regular income, offering potential tax advantages.
While TTR can be complicated it, can produce excellent outcomes.
It's worth exploring to see if it's a good fit for you.
We get that it might be challenging to understand, but we're here to help.
Cbus offers dedicated seminars explaining how TTR works and who it's suitable for.
Once you've learned more about TTR and determined it's right for you, the next step is to contact Advice services on 1300 361 784.
We provide personalised advice for eligible members at no additional cost.
Cbus, making hard work pay off.
Features of a TTR account
Supplement your take-home pay
Reduce your work hours and top up your take home pay from your super.
Tax benefits
Income payments are tax-free.
Investment earnings are only taxed up to 15%, not your marginal tax rate.
Start to access your super
Draw down between 4% - 10% of your balance as income each year.
Keep your money invested
Choose from a range of investment options to keep your super working hard.
Keep your insurance
Keep your accumulation super account open and keep your insurance.
Set up your account and payments
When you open your account, decide how much you want to get as a regular payment and how often.
You can change the amount and timing of payments at any time. Your new payment amount needs to be within the government limits.
Regular payments while your money stays invested
Regular payments are sent to your chosen bank account.
The rest of your balance stays invested, less fees, income payments, withdrawals and tax (if applicable).
When you turn 65 or stop working
Your account will convert to a Fully Retired Super Income Stream when you:
- Turn 65, or
- Tell us you've stoped working before 65.
You won't pay tax on investment earnings.
You may qualify for an Income stream tax refund.
Get payments until your balance runs out
You’ll get payments until the money in your account runs out.
When you die, any remaining balance of your account may be paid to your beneficiaries as a cash payment or regular income.
1. Work less
Example: Bill wants to work less
Bill is 60 and has $150,000 in super. He earns $75,000 a year (before tax), and his take-home pay is $2,374 a fortnight.
Bill wants to cut back his hours to four days a week, but not reduce his take-home pay. Bill speaks to a Cbus finanical adviser who lets him know he can:
- Cut back work to four days a week and take home $1,970 a fortnight, and
- Open a TTR account with a fortnightly payment of $404
- This gives Bill the same take-home pay of $2,374 a fortnight.
Bill can enjoy his extra day off, without changing his spending habits.*
Note: By using super now, Bill is likely to have less for when he fully retires.
2. Save more for retirement
Example: Mary wants to grow her super
Mary is also 60. She earns $75,000 a year (before tax) and has $150,000 in super.
Mary wants to retire at 67. With only a few years to go, she wants to do what she can to boost her super. Mary’s Cbus financial adviser lets her know she can:
- Add an extra $1,750 each month ($21,000 per year) to her super account using salary sacrifice. This reduces her taxable income, and
- Open a TTR account with a monthly payment of $1,225 ($14,700 per year). This will be paid tax-free because she’s over 60.
This means Mary can add an extra $3,150 to her super account over the year without affecting her take-home pay.*
*These examples are provided for illustration purposes only and are not intended to replace financial advice. This information doesn’t represent the benefits that you could receive or the fees and costs you may pay - the outcome will depend on your personal circumstances.
Assumptions: Calculators are based on 2025/2026 tax rates and the Medicare levy of up to 2% of taxable income is not included. Rebates or tax offsets that may lower the tax you pay are also not included.
What is the transfer balance cap? Does it apply to TTR accounts?
The TTR account does not count towards your personal transfer balance cap. This is because investment earnings in TTR accounts are taxed.
The government has limited the amount of super you can transfer into tax-free retirement accounts (like the Fully Retired account) to $2 million, if you're starting your first retirement income stream account in or after the 2025/26 financial year.
This is called the transfer balance cap. The cap is a lifetime limit on how much you can put into tax-free retirement accounts, pensions and annuities, with Cbus and any other super funds.
Are you planning to claim a tax deduction?
To claim a tax deduction for personal contributions to super, you need to do this before you transfer any money out of your super account.
Please note that:
- Once you take the money out of your super account, you may not be able to claim the full deduction
- Once your super account has been closed, you won’t be able to claim a deduction at all.
To claim a tax deduction:
- Complete the Claim a tax deduction for personal contributions to super (PDF) form and return it to us
- We’ll process your request and write to you to confirm this
- Then, you can move your super into a Super Income Stream account.
Important information
Before you open a TTR account, make sure you understand all about it. Here's what you'll need to be across:
Advice and resources
Need advice?
The rules and conditions around the TTR account are complex. Especially around tax.
Our financial advisers can help you make confident choices about retirement.
Calculators
Our calculators can help you undertand how to maximise your super and plan for retirement.
Education sessions
Our in-person seminars and online webinars can help you get the most out of your super and plan for retirement.
FAQs
Who’s eligible for a TTR account?
To be eligible to open a TTR account, you need to be 60 - 64.
Are there any restrictions on a TTR account?
- Lump sum withdrawals aren’t generally allowed (unless you meet another condition of release that lets you access your benefits from the TTR account)
- Your account balance counts towards your total super balance (exceptions apply)
- You can stop your payments and transfer your balance to your Cbus Super account but you cannot add more funds to your TTR account once it starts.
Once you turn 65 (or tell us you meet another condition of release that gives you unrestricted access to your TTR account balance) your account will convert to a Fully Retired Super Income Stream.
As part of this:
- Tax on investment earnings don’t usually apply
- The amount you take into the Fully Retired account will count towards your transfer balance cap.
How often can you receive income stream payments?
You can choose to have your income payments paid:
| Frequency | Payment date |
|---|---|
| Fortnightly (default) | Every second Friday |
| Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly | 15th or 28th of the month |
You can’t choose an annual payment date of 15 July because your 1 July account balance isn’t available at that date. If you don’t choose a frequency, you’ll be paid fortnightly. You’ll get payments until the money in your account runs out.
How are investment earning taxed?
In a TTR account, your investment earnings are taxed at up to 15%.
Can more money be added to a TTR account?
Once you’ve opened a TTR account, you can’t add any more money to it. If you’d like to add more, you’ll need to open a new TTR account.
Can lump sum withdrawals be made from a TTR account?
Lump sum withdrawals aren’t generally allowed, unless you meet another condition of release that lets you access your benefits from the TTR account.
Can a TTR account be converted to a Fully Retired account?
When you reach 65, your TTR account will automatically become a Fully Retired account.
A Fully Retired account works in much the same way as a TTR account, but you don’t have to pay tax on your investment earnings. You can also make make withdrawals more easily.
We’ll also change your TTR account to a Fully Retired account if you tell us that you’ve met one of the following conditions of release:
- You've reached age 60 and have permanently retired
- You've stopped a paid employment arrangement on or after reaching age 60
- You're totally and permanently disabled or have been diagnosed as terminally ill with a life expectancy of 24 months or less.
If you convert your TTR account into a Fully Retired account, the transferred balance will count towards your personal transfer balance cap.
Read more in the TTR account Product Disclosure Statement (PDF).