Accessing your benefit

Lifetime CPI indexed pension plus a lump sum

You may receive a standard indexed pension, plus a lump sum of your member and productivity components at minimum retiring age—generally age 55.

Cashing restrictions may limit the amount of your lump sum benefit that can be accessed as cash, depending on your age. Your CSS pension is not capped, however your tax treatment may change if it exceeds the Transfer Balance Cap.

A non-indexed pension

You may receive a non-indexed pension at minimum retiring age—generally age 55, and choose how you wish to receive your member and productivity components:

• in full as an additional non-indexed pension (member and productivity components); or
• as both a non-indexed pension (paid from your member component only) and a lump sum amount (paid from your productivity component only).

The amount of non-indexed pension you can receive may be capped, depending on how you claim your benefit. Any excess amount will be paid to you as a lump sum.

The 54/11 Option (Deferred Benefit)

If you resign at least two calendar days before your 55th birthday and elect to defer your CSS retirement benefit until at least your 55th birthday—you may be eligible to claim your Deferred Benefit.

Generally, you must take the standard indexed pension that is calculated at 2.5 times the accumulated basic contributions. The pension amount is also subject to a percentage based on your age at claiming.

You have the option to take an additional non-indexed pension and choose either maximum non-indexed pension using all your member contributions and productivity, or just use member contributions and take productivity as a lump sum subject to cashing restrictions.

You can also choose to take both member and productivity as a lump sum, subject to cashing restrictions.

Your benefit is calculated differently than if you wait until after you turn 55 to retire.

This Deferred Benefit option is available to contributing members of CSS under the age of 55, eligible members who have already deferred their benefit, or CSS members aged 55 and over who leave work through redundancy. If you are claiming through redundancy, you may claim it the day after you preserve your benefit.

How the 54/11 option is applied

You can elect to preserve your CSS benefit within 21 days of ceasing work, then defer claiming it until after you turn 55. If you decide to re-join CSS, you must have a Preserved Benefit.

Your Deferred Benefit is used to determine your CSS entitlements. An indexed pension is calculated as 2.5 times your accumulated basic contributions multiplied by an age-based pension factor. We don’t use your final salary to calculate your pension when you’ve retired or resigned—as we would if you were taking a regular age retirement.

You can also take your member and productivity contributions as a lump sum, convert them to a non-indexed pension, or take a combination of both.

Example: Jo

Jo is planning for retirement. She is about to turn 55 and is considering her options.

• Option 1: Jo could retire two days before her 55th birthday, preserve her benefit, and from the day she turns 55 claim her benefits using the deferred calculation.
• Option 2: Jo can continue working until she turns 55, and any time on or after her 55th birthday she can retire and claim her benefits using the age retirement calculation.

If you leave work by taking a redundancy, you may also be eligible to choose the Deferred Benefit method regardless of your age. If you’re over 55 and take a redundancy, you must defer your benefit for at least one day before you’re eligible to claim.

The pension amount will be capped depending on your final salary and your age at claim.

If you retire after 55

If you choose to continue working and retire at or after age 55, your indexed pension is calculated using a percentage of your final salary. This percentage is based on your age and years of contributory service.

You can take your accumulated member and productivity contributions as:

• a lump sum (productivity);
• a standard non-indexed pension (member); or
• both a lump sum and pension.

The pension amount will be capped depending on your final salary and your age at claim.

Postpone all or some of your CSS benefit

If you have not permanently retired from the workforce and are over your minimum retiring age (usually age 55), you can elect to postpone your whole benefit for payment later. You can also choose to take your member component as a lump sum or as a non-indexed pension, with your remaining benefit postponed for payment later. 

Lump sum only

You may receive your whole CSS benefit as a lump sum amount. To elect this option, you must be an ex-Provident Account member and retire at or after age 60.

To estimate your potential Retirement Benefit and understand the options available to you, request a Benefit Estimate.

For more information read our CSS Product Disclosure Statement.

Other considerations

You might consider paying supplementary contributions prior to resigning or retiring. For more information read Contributing to CSS.

There are different tax components to your CSS benefit. For more information read Tax and your CSS.