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Home / How super works / Super for beginners / Super tips and strategies if you are in your 60s or 70s

Super tips and strategies if you are in your 60s or 70s

October 6, 2020 by Janine Mace Leave a Comment

Reading time: 4 minutes

On this page

  • 1. Check the rules for accessing your super
  • 2. Consider a transition-to-retirement strategy
  • 3. Contribute to receive a government co-contribution
  • 4. Reassess your investment option
  • 5. Make some last-minute contributions
  • 6. Consider making a downsizer contribution
  • 7. Ensure you meet the work test before contributing after 67
  • 8. Work out your retirement budget
  • 9. Consider getting independent financial advice
  • 10. Review your super beneficiaries

Once you hit your 60s and 70s, enjoying retirement is usually your main goal – whether you’re still getting ready to put your feet up or you have already made the break. But that doesn’t mean your retirement finances don’t need attention.

Even now super isn’t a set-and-forget investment. It’s still important to keep an eye on your super investments and ensure they are working hard for you.

To help, SuperGuide has put together a list of useful tips and strategies to check at this stage of your life. Not all the tips are suitable for everyone, but they should help you think through some of the super-related issues you need to consider.

1. Check the rules for accessing your super

Once you reach your 60s, the rules for accessing your super change – and so does the amount of tax you will pay when you take your benefit.

After your 60th birthday, most people can take their super benefit tax free. You can also choose to withdraw your super as an income stream, lump sum or a combination of the two.

For more information see the following SuperGuide articles:

  • Your tax guide to accessing your super over age 60
  • What age can I access my super (Preservation Age)?
  • When can I access my super? All conditions of release explained
  • Accessing super: Ceasing employment after 60

2. Consider a transition-to-retirement strategy

If you’re in your 60s, it still makes sense to consider starting a transition-to-retirement (TTR) pension, as it will allow you to reduce your working hours while using income from your super to maintain your lifestyle.


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You could also salary sacrifice some of your salary into super to save tax and use a TTR pension to replace some or all of your lost income – even if you continue working.

For more information see the following SuperGuide articles:

  • Guide to transition-to-retirement pensions (TTRs or TRISs)
  • Did tax kill the transition-to-retirement magic pudding?

3. Contribute to receive a government co-contribution

If you are now working fewer hours and earning a lower income, check if you are eligible for a government co-contribution into your super account.

You could be eligible for a co-contribution of up to $500 a year when you make personal (after-tax) contributions to your super fund. If your total superannuation balance is greater than $1.6 million, however, you will not be eligible for co-contribution scheme contributions.

For more information see the following SuperGuide articles:

  • How a government co-contribution can help boost your super savings
  • Total Superannuation Balance: When it applies and what is included

4. Reassess your investment option

Once you are in your 60s and retirement is either around the corner or you have already retired, it’s definitely time to review your investment strategy and check the level of risk you are taking with the savings in your super account or super pension. It’s also a good time to learn more about investing in retirement.

Check if you qualify for the Age Pension or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. These government benefits can make a big difference to how much income you have in retirement. They also allow you to access a range of other valuable benefits – even if you only qualify for a small pension.

For more information see the following SuperGuide articles:

  • How to choose an investment option for your super pension
  • How to create an investment portfolio in retirement
  • How to change your investment option: 6 points to check before you switch
  • Video: Which investment option is right for you?
  • How do I apply for the Australian Age Pension?
  • Commonwealth Seniors Health Card: What it is and how to apply

5. Make some last-minute contributions

If you want to give your super account a final boost, consider making a large non-concessional (after-tax) contribution.

Under the bring-forward rules, you may be able to use three years of your non-concessional contributions cap ($100,000 in 2020/21) to make a larger contribution into your super account.

For more information see the following SuperGuide articles:

  • A super guide to understanding the bring-forward rule
  • Contributing to your super in your late 60s: What are the rules?

6. Consider making a downsizer contribution

If you are aged 65 and over and are ready to downsize – or simply want to put more into your super account and are willing to sell your current home – it could be worth considering a downsizer contribution.

These contributions allow a couple to invest up to $600,000 ($300,000 each in 2020/21) from the sale proceeds of their family home into their super account.

For more information see SuperGuide article Making downsizer super contributions: 10 things you need to know.

7. Ensure you meet the work test before contributing after 67

Although anyone under the age of 67 can make both concessional and non?concessional contributions into their super account even if they are not working, once you reach age 67 you must meet the conditions of a work test to make some types of contributions.

Once you hit 67, to put extra money into your super account you need to prove you are gainfully employed, which means satisfying the superannuation work test. You may also qualify for the one-off work test exemption if you are a recent retiree.

For more information see the following SuperGuide articles:

  • Work test: Making super contributions over 67
  • How to make super contributions after you’ve retired

8. Work out your retirement budget

Before you retire, it’s important to work out a budget for your retirement years so you know how much you will have to spend each year. Work out how long your super will last and what lifestyle you can afford with the money you have saved.

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Calculate how much income your super and non-super assets will provide and how this compares to your retirement budget. If the two figures are a long way apart, consider whether you may need to continue working or even return to the workforce.

You can also look at options like the government’s Pension Loan Scheme, which could provide you with additional income through a reverse mortgage-style loan against your home.

For more information see the following SuperGuide articles:

  • How much super do I need to retire?
  • Retirement cost of living: How much does a comfortable lifestyle cost?
  • Can I return to work after I access my super?
  • Starting a new business in retirement
  • What is the Pension Loans Scheme, and how does it work?

9. Consider getting independent financial advice

When you reach your 60s and 70s, it can be a sensible time to talk to an independent financial adviser about your retirement, investments and a budget for your new lifestyle.

A good financial adviser can help you work out how much you are likely to have at retirement and they can also explain any tax you will need to pay when you receive your super benefit. Advisers can also help with decisions about taking a lump sum or a super pension, together with helping you work out how best to invest your super benefit and non-super assets to generate an income that will last for the rest of your life.

For more information see the following SuperGuide articles:

  • Super advice: How to find a suitable financial adviser
  • How much does financial advice cost?
  • How to choose an investment option for your super pension
  • How to create an investment portfolio in retirement
  • How the 10/30/60 Rule can help achieve your retirement plans
  • Worried about your post-virus finances? 10 tips to help stretch your retirement dollars

10. Review your super beneficiaries

During these years it’s important to check your super beneficiaries. Divorce, separation or even death may mean the insurance beneficiaries you named a few years ago are no longer appropriate. Check your current nominated beneficiaries so your benefit doesn’t end up with a former partner, or with a non-tax dependant beneficiary who is faced with a big tax bill when they receive your super benefit.

Check to see if your super fund offers a non-lapsing death benefit nomination, as binding nominations expire after three years if you forget to renew them.


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For more information see the following SuperGuide articles:

  • Who gets your super when you die? A guide to death benefit nominations
  • A simple guide to what tax is payable on super death benefits
  • Reversionary pensions: What they are and how they work

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Learn more about retirement planning strategies in the following SuperGuide articles:

Am I eligible for the Age Pension?

March 9, 2021

What age should I retire?

December 1, 2020

Super tips and strategies if you are in your 50s

October 6, 2020

Countdown to retirement: Tips to help kickstart your retirement plans

June 1, 2020

What strategies can I consider to reduce tax on my super pension?

April 1, 2020

Is a bucket strategy the solution for your retirement income plan?

March 23, 2020

Guide to transition-to-retirement pensions (TTRs or TRISs)

March 22, 2020

Learn more about super contributions strategies in the following SuperGuide articles:

Capital gains and super: Using super contributions to reduce your CGT bill

March 10, 2021

What super contributions are best for me?

July 8, 2020

What is a re-contribution strategy and how can I use it with my super?

July 6, 2020

A super guide to understanding the bring-forward rule

July 1, 2020

How carry-forward (catch-up) super contributions work

July 1, 2020

Contribution splitting: How to boost your spouse’s super

July 1, 2020

How a government co-contribution can help boost your super savings

June 19, 2020

Why it can be a good idea to put as much into super as possible

June 1, 2020

Salary sacrifice and super: How does it work?

January 13, 2020

Making downsizer super contributions: 10 things you need to know

December 16, 2019

The pros and cons of investing your inheritance into super

August 13, 2019

Learn more about super housekeeping strategies in the following SuperGuide articles:

Life insurance through super: A definitive guide

January 18, 2021

Super tips and strategies if you are in your 20s

October 6, 2020

Super tips and strategies if you are in your 30s or 40s

October 6, 2020

Super tips and strategies if you are in your 50s

October 6, 2020

The easy way to find and consolidate your lost super

October 1, 2020

What to do if your employer doesn’t pay your super

September 18, 2020

10 points to check on your annual super fund statement

September 2, 2020

10 EOFY housekeeping tips for your super

May 1, 2020

10 key super fund fees: What are they and why am I paying them?

November 20, 2019

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All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it.

If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions.

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