Benefit estimates

The i-Estimator is an online tool in CSC Navigator, that helps you estimate your potential benefits. It allows you to explore different contribution and retirement scenarios, so you can better understand how your choices today may shape your financial outcome in retirement.

The i-Estimator is designed to help you plan ahead with great clarity. Before you begin, it’s helpful to keep a few things in mind:

• The results are estimates only and not guaranteed
• Your estimates are based on the information currently held by CSC and the assumptions you choose.

Your actual benefit may vary depending on a range of factors, including contributions, super salary, investment performance, CPI, and how and when you leave the scheme.

Important information

The information provided is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

It’s important to read the disclaimer and assumptions carefully, as they explain the default assumptions used to estimate your retirement balance and income, and how you can tailor these to better reflect your circumstances. Before making any decisions about your super, you should consider whether the information is appropriate for your circumstances. You may wish to seek advice from a licensed financial planner.

You should also review the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decisions. Read the relevant PDS on our website csc.gov.au

The i-Estimator gives you more flexibility and choice to explore your super at your own pace.

You can run multiple scenarios, adjust your assumptions, and see how different choices—like contributions or retirement timing—may influence your estimated benefit. It’s an easy way to build understanding and plan ahead with confidence.

For most members, the i Estimator is the best place to start if you want to compare options and see how your super could change over time.

If your circumstances are more complex, or you’d like additional support, you can contact CSC.

Most contributing and preserved members can use the i-Estimator to explore their super and plan ahead.

However, there are some situations where the i Estimator isn’t suitable or won’t provide an accurate estimate. This includes members who:

• have had more than one Family Law super split applied to their benefit
• have a membership as a result of a family law split, known as an associate account.
• are aged 65 or over
• require a manual calculation based on their individual circumstances

If you’re unsure whether the i Estimator is right for you, or would like additional support, you can contact CSC for guidance.

Yes — the i Estimator will show you when you’re expected to reach your Maximum Benefit Limit (MBL), based on the assumptions used in your estimate.

Once that point is reached, your contribution rate will automatically adjust to 0% in the estimate, reflecting how your benefit is managed beyond the MBL.

Yes — you can still use the i Estimator if you’ve had a Family Law split.

If you’ve had more than one Family Law split, the i Estimator may not provide an accurate estimate. In this case, you can contact CSC for a more tailored view of your benefits.

You can access the i-Estimator by logging into CSC Navigator.

It’s available whenever it suits you, so you can explore your super and plan ahead in your own time.

Yes — you can run the i Estimator as often as you like.

This gives you the flexibility to explore different scenarios, adjust your assumptions, and compare options so you can better understand how changes today could shape your future benefit.

If you’re currently contributing, you can use the i‑Estimator to explore how different life events may affect your benefits — including resignation or separation, retrenchment, retirement, invalidity, and death.

If you’ve left eligible service in the ADF or opted out of MilitarySuper and now have a preserved benefit, you can use the i‑Estimator to estimate your benefits at retirement age or in the event of death.

The right scenario depends on your personal circumstances and what you want to understand about your future benefits.

As a contributor, the i‑Estimator can help you see how changes such as your super salary, contribution rate or length of service may influence your benefit over time. Exploring these scenarios now can support better decisions about how you build your super.

If you have a preserved benefit, your super continues to change over time. Your funded component moves with investment returns, which may go up or down. Your employer-financed component is adjusted in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Even without ongoing contributions (member or employer), the i‑Estimator can help you understand what your future benefit may look like. This can help give you greater confidence as you plan and consider your retirement goals more broadly.

How multiple accounts work for MSBS

If you rejoin the ADF, you may have both a contributing account and one or more preserved accounts. 

Your accounts grow in different ways: 

• Your contributing account grows with contributions, your Final Average Salary and Employer Benefit Multiple (EBM) 
• Your preserved account or accounts may continue to grow with positive investment earnings, and your employer-financed benefit adjusted in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) 

You can use the i‑Estimator to understand your benefits across both your contributing and preserved accounts, giving you a clearer view of your overall position. 

For more information, see Rejoining the Australian Defence Force.  

Your estimate is based on the scenario you choose and the information available at the time.

If you’re currently contributing, your estimate reflects factors such as your salary, length of service and contribution rate. It also incorporates the assumptions you enter, allowing you to explore how different choices may influence your benefit over time.

If you have a preserved benefit, your estimate is based on your current balance and the assumptions you apply, giving you a clearer view of how your benefit may change in the future. 

The i‑Estimator uses a range of assumptions to help you explore how your benefit may change over time. You can adjust many of these to reflect your own circumstances and see how different choices may affect your outcome.

Annual salary increase

This reflects how your salary may grow over time.

The default is 4%, but you can adjust this between 0% and 20% to see how different levels of salary growth could affect your benefit.

This option is not available for preserved members.

Increment anniversary date

Your increment anniversary date determines when your salary increases are applied in your estimate.

Contribution rate

Your contribution rate plays an important role in building your benefit.

Generally, if you are a contributing member, you are required to pay fortnightly member contributions from your after-tax salary. The i‑Estimator defaults to 5%, and you can adjust this between 5% and 10% to see how different contribution levels may influence your projected benefit.

This option is not available for preserved members.

Annual investment returns

This shows how investment performance may affect your benefit.

The i‑Estimator includes a default rate based on long-term assumptions, but you can adjust this between -20% and 20% to compare different market outcomes.

Consumer Price Index

The i-Estimator applies a default percentage based on the 2020 fund long term cost report. You can adjust this between 0% and 20% to explore how changes in inflation could influence your benefit.

Promotion

If you’re expecting a change in rank or role, you can include an updated salary to estimate how this may affect your benefit. 

Your Compulsory Retirement Age (CRA) is the age at which you’re required to transition from eligible service.

For most members, the CRA changed from 55 to 60 from 2007. However, it can vary depending on your rank and may also change based on Defence requirements. To confirm your CRA, you should contact your Personnel section.

Your CRA is used in some i‑Estimator scenarios, including invalidity and death in service. These estimates assume service continues to your CRA and include this when calculating your potential benefit.

The i‑Estimator uses a default CRA of 60. If your CRA is different, you can refer to your annual statement or contact CSC for a more tailored estimate, particularly if you expect to claim your benefit within the next 12 months.

Investment return reflects how your super may grow over time through investment earnings.

You can adjust this assumption to explore different outcomes. For example, you may want to compare more conservative and less conservative return assumptions to understand how market performance could influence your benefit.

A default rate is applied based on long-term assumptions, but you can adjust this to explore different scenarios. For more information, see Investment options

CPI reflects how inflation may affect your benefit over time.

The i‑Estimator uses a default CPI assumption of 2.5% to provide a consistent starting point for your estimate, based on long‑term assumptions used by CSC.

Because inflation can vary, it’s helpful to explore different CPI assumptions in the i‑Estimator. This allows you to see how changes in inflation may influence your projected benefit. You may wish to compare a range of assumptions to understand potential outcomes, knowing that past trends don’t guarantee future results. 

If you have both a preserved and a contributing account, the i‑Estimator shows an estimate for each account separately. 

To understand your overall position, you can: 

• run an estimate for each account 
• review the results side by side to understand how each contributes to your total benefit. 

While you’re still contributing, your accounts are shown separately so you can clearly see how each one is performing. Once you leave service, your benefits are combined in line with the scheme rules.

The i‑Estimator shows detailed results based on the benefit option you select. 

All available options are listed under ‘Benefit option’ within your estimate. You’ll need to select each benefit option individually to view the full result, including tax. 

To explore other options, simply select ‘Back’ and choose a different benefit option. 

Over time, inflation can affect what your money is able to buy. 

The ‘CPI reduced benefit’ view helps you understand what your estimated benefit might be worth in today’s terms. It adjusts your future benefit using your chosen Consumer Price Index (CPI) assumption, giving you a clearer sense of its purchasing power. 

You’ll see: 

• your estimated future value 
• and an adjusted value that reflects the impact of inflation

This can help you better understand how your benefit may translate into real-world spending in the future. 

Your pension is made up of different components (tax‑free, taxable‑taxed, and taxable‑untaxed), and the tax applied depends on your age when you claim your benefit.

If you claim a pension before reaching preservation age, both the taxable‑taxed and taxable‑untaxed components are subject to tax. However, once you reach preservation age, only the taxable‑untaxed component is taxed.

The i‑Estimator shows two tax calculations:

• one based on claiming your benefit before preservation age.
• one based on claiming your benefit after preservation age.

This allows you to compare outcomes and understand how timing may affect your after-tax benefit.

We will automatically adjust your tax withheld when you turn 60, even if you’ve claimed a pension before this age. 

The tax on your benefit depends on your age and the source of the contributions in your super account before it was converted to a benefit. 

For more details, see Tax and your super.

The i‑Estimator lets you adjust how your pre‑1 July 1999 member benefit is taxed, so you can see how different tax treatments may affect your estimate. 

For more information, see Tax and your super. 

If you choose a part pension/part lump sum option, you can adjust how your employer benefit is divided between a pension and a lump sum. 

Select ‘Change benefit split’ and use the slider to set your preferred percentage. Then select ‘Recalculate my benefit’ to update your estimate. 

This allows you to explore different splits and see how they may affect your estimated benefit. 

The i‑Estimator doesn’t include ancillary contributions, so ancillary benefits aren’t shown in your estimate. 

To see your current ancillary balance, go to CSC Navigator > Accounts > My account. 

You can still use the i‑Estimator if you have a surcharge debt, but it isn’t included in your estimated benefit.  

Your surcharge debt is shown on your Annual Member Statement each year. 

Contact CSC if you’d like to discuss options to pay your surcharge debt. 

You can still use the i‑Estimator if you have a Division 293 debt with the ATO. However, it isn’t included in your estimate. 

This is because the ATO is responsible for administering the debt and CSC doesn’t receive the final amount until you claim your benefit. 

Yes — on the results page, select ‘Download PDF’ to save a copy to your device. 

If you’re saving multiple estimates, use clear file names so you can easily identify them later. 

Examples file names: 

• Age retirement estimate – [insert claim date used] - – [insert contribution rate used] – [insert salary used] 
• Preserved age retirement estimate – [insert claim date used] – [insert CPI rate used] – [insert interest rate used]. 

Yes — we’d love to hear your feedback. You can provide feedback using the feedback tab on the right-hand side of the i‑Estimator screen.

More information about MSBS benefit options can be found here.

If you’re ready and eligible to claim your benefit, you can complete the MilitarySuper digital form through the CSC Navigator.  

The form is designed to make claiming your retirement benefits simple and lets you track your application’s progress. 

All other benefit applications can be downloaded at forms and publications.