Your Benefits
Benefit Components
People often think of superannuation in terms of the contributions they pay and the interest those contributions earn. In MilitarySuper this is called the Member benefit but it only comprises part of your overall benefit. The Employer Benefit is often overlooked. The Employer Benefit is fully Funded by the Australian Government and comprises an excellent accrual rate which is government guaranteed and not linked to investment performance. The Employer Benefit costs you nothing.
Member Benefit
Following are some key points about your Member benefit
- Your Member Benefit is made up of your fortnightly contribution to your super plus interest.
- Your Member Benefit is only payable as a lump sum of your contributions plus interest.
- You cannot convert your Member Benefit to a MilitarySuper pension.
- The value of the lump sum depends on the rate of contributions you pay and investment performance, as reflected in the daily unit price.
- You don't have to take any part of your Member Benefit when you leave the Australian Defence Force (ADF). If you wish, you may leave it in the Fund until as late as age 65, where it will continue to grow according to the Fund's investment performance.
If you joined the Scheme before 1 July 1999, part of your Member Benefit is payable as a lump sum when you leave MilitarySuper, the rest when you reach your preservation age and leave the workforce.
Employer Benefit
Following are some key points about your Employer Benefit.
- The Employer Benefit is a lump sum amount which depends on your length of service and Final Average Salary (FAS). FAS is your average superannuation salary over the last three years of your ADF service
- The Employer Benefit consists of two parts:
- a taxed component, which represents the 3 per cent productivity superannuation contributions paid into the Fund by the Department of Defence on your behalf, plus investment returns; and
- an untaxed component, paid by the Commonwealth, which is what is left after the taxed component has been subtracted from the total Employer Benefit.
- Generally you cannot take your Employer Benefit as a lump sum until you reach your preservation age and retire from the workforce or you leave employment on or after age 60.
After leaving the ADF, from age 55 you can:
- take your Employer Benefit as a CPI indexed pension; or
- roll over your Employer Benefit to another superannuation Fund; or
- take 50 per cent or more of your Employer Benefit as indexed pension and preserve the balance in MilitarySuper or in a rollover Fund.
Generally, you cannot take your employer benefit as a lump sum until you reach your preservation age and retire from the workforce or you leave employment on or before age 60.
Preservation Age Table
Your preservation age is determined by your date of birth as shown below:
| Date of Birth | Preservation Age |
|---|---|
| Before July 1960 | 55 |
| July 1960 - June 1961 | 56 |
| July 1961- June 1962 | 57 |
| July 1962 - June 1963 | 58 |
| July 1963 - June 1964 | 59 |
| After July 1964 | 60 |
For information on early access to benefits, see Early Access to Benefits.
Note: Early access to benefits is NOT available to current contributing Members.
Estimate Your Benefit
Using the i-Estimator it is possible to obtain an estimate of what your combined Member and Employer Benefit will amount to.
It's important to note that final lump sum or pension amounts can vary significantly from Member to Member and are affected by factors including age, rank, contributory service, previous eligible service, the allowances received and the superannuation options selected on retirement.
More Information
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Customer Service Centre
For information about your superannuation entitlement, the payment of your benefit or about any other superannuation related matter, see the Customer Service Centre.
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