Only four in 10 Australians are aware of when they can have access to their superannuation savings, according to a Vanguard survey.
If you're among them, we thought we'd help you out.
Here is what you need to know.
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Your preservation age
Unless you meet the criteria for early access, you can't touch your superannuation savings until you reach your preservation age.
Your superannuation preservation age will be between 55 and 60 years of age, depending on when you were born.
Here is a table with the specifics.
| Date of birth | Preservation age |
| Before 1 July 1960 | 55 |
| 1 July 1960 – 30 June 1961 | 56 |
| 1 July 1961 – 30 June 1962 | 57 |
| 1 July 1962 – 30 June 1963 | 58 |
| 1 July 1963 – 30 June 1964 | 59 |
| After 30 June 1964 | 60 |
You don't need to retire to access your superannuation
At preservation age, you can certainly choose to retire, and this will give you full access to your superannuation savings.
But there are other options.
At age 60, if you're working more than one job, you can cease one and continue in the other, and gain full access to your superannuation savings to date.
The Australian Taxation Office explains:
If a member who is 60 years or over ceases one employment arrangement but continues in another employment arrangement, they may cash all benefits accumulated up to that time.
All amounts accrued after that date will be preserved or restricted non-preserved benefits. They can't be cashed until a fresh condition of release is met.
If you're working the one job and want to continue working when you reach preservation age, you can have partial access to your superannuation via a transition-to-retirement (TTR) income stream.
The TTR is especially useful if you want to switch to part-time hours, with the new income stream potentially making up the difference from a full-time wage.
At age 65, preservation rules become irrelevant. Whether you're retired or not, you can have full access to your superannuation savings.
What do other people do when they reach preservation age?
Hamish Landreth, Director of Financial Services at Prosperity Advisers Group, says it is increasingly common for his clients to keep working beyond their preservation age.
Landreth told The Fool:
The financial benefit is certainly a big driver but there are also personal and social reasons to work longer than perhaps the generation prior.
There is also the consideration that there is up to a 7 year gap between the superannuation preservation age and Age Pension age, so many people need to keep working to help supplement income until they reach Age Pension age.
Despite still working, many people will access their superannuation to help supplement a reduction in income or fund other lump sum costs or financial strategies as they start to prepare for retirement, if they are eligible to do so.
Average age of retirement in Australia
The average age of the 156,000 Australians who retired in FY25 was 63.8 years, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
A two-yearly survey found Australians are retiring later in life than earlier generations.
The ABS said there were 4.5 million retirees in Australia today, and their average retirement age was much lower at 57.3 years.
About a third of the 156,000 Australians who retired in FY25 said their main reason for doing so was reaching their superannuation preservation age or the pension age.
Australians become eligible for the age pension between ages 65 and 67, depending on their date of birth.
For those born on or after 1 January 1957, the pension age is 67 years.
The full pension is currently $1,178.70 per fortnight for singles and $1,777 per fortnight for couples.
