Temporary residents leaving Australia permanently can claim back their superannuation, known as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP), but it is not the full amount. The payment is taxed, often at a high rate (35%–65% depending on the component), and it is not available to Australian or New Zealand citizens.
If you're an Australian citizen leaving permanently, the same rules apply to your super, as if you were living in Australia. This means your super must stay in your super fund(s) until you are eligible to access it. Find out when you can withdraw your super.
Generally, you can only access your super once you turn 65, or if you're aged 60 to 64 and have retired or ceased an employment arrangement. If this applies to you, you may be eligible to access your super.
You can only claim your super under a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) if you are not a citizen or permanent resident of Australia. You must have visited Australia on a temporary visa (which has now expired or been cancelled) and have departed Australia.
You may be able to get Age Pension for the whole time you're outside Australia, even if you're leaving to live in another country. If you leave within 2 years of returning to Australia to live, your payment may stop if you: came back to Australia to live. started getting Age Pension after you returned.
How to claim the DASP
No, you generally don't lose your vested pension if you quit, but what you keep depends on your plan's rules, vesting period, and your choices; you can often roll it over, leave it, or cash it out (with potential taxes/penalties), but if you leave before meeting the plan's vesting requirements, you might forfeit some or all of the employer's contributions. The key is being vested, meaning you've worked long enough to earn the benefit, and then deciding whether to leave it in the plan, roll it into an IRA, or take a payout.
The bring-forward rule enables you to accelerate your super contributions by using up to three years' worth of non-concessional (after-tax) contributions caps in a single year. This means you could contribute up to three times the annual limit in one go, or spread your contribution out over two to three years.
You cannot access your super until you reach 60 except under early access rules. You can access your super if you meet a condition of release. You can access your super, whether you are working or not.
However, temporary residents are able to access their super if they're moving away from Australia and aren't planning on returning. Applying through your super fund and providing proof of you temporary visa and departure plans should be ample proof for you to be able to cash out out your superannuation payments.
A lump sum withdrawal is a cash payment from your super savings to your bank account. You can request to withdraw a lump sum from your accumulation (Future Saver) account if you've met certain conditions set by the Government.
The Australian Government's Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) allows international travellers to claim a refund on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Wine Equalisation Tax (WET). The government pays this on eligible purchases you make in Australia and take offshore when you meet certain conditions.
You'll receive the super in regular payments (an income stream) over the time you are unable to work. There are no special tax rates for a super withdrawal due to temporary incapacity. Withdrawals are paid and taxed as a super income stream.
When you cease to be an Australian resident for tax purposes, you may be considered to have 'disposed' of your assets. Subsequently, this potentially results in a capital gains tax (CGT) bill. This process is known colloquially as an 'exit tax'.
On the other hand, if you travel outside the country, your entry ticket will be valid for only 5 years unless you extend it. Nevertheless, your PR status is still the same; you are a permanent resident in a legal sense, but cannot pass through the arrivals gate without a valid travel facility.
If you don't claim your super within six months of departing Australia, your super fund will be required to close your account and transfer the balance to the ATO as unclaimed super. While you can still claim your super from the ATO at any time, your super will no longer receive investment returns.
Retiring at 60 with $500,000 in super is possible but challenging, depending heavily on your spending, lifestyle, and if you qualify for the Australian Age Pension. You might cover modest expenses using strategies like drawing down around $20,000 annually (using the 4% rule as a guide) plus other income, but it requires careful budgeting, potentially part-time work, and reducing living costs. A financial advisor can help tailor a plan, as $500k alone usually supports a basic to moderate retirement, not a lavish one.
Even if you move overseas, your superannuation will typically stay in Australia. If you move to New Zealand, you may be able to transfer your super to a KiwiSaver account. Temporary residents returning home after visiting Australia can apply for a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment.
In the organisation's super balance update, it found 2.5 per cent of the population have a super account of more than $1 million, as of June 2021. This represents 417,567 individuals, ASFA said, and is a 29 per cent increase from the 322,200 individuals who held over $1 million in June 2019.
Currently the transfer balance cap is $2 million. After you retire any amounts over the cap need to be transferred into an accumulation account or withdrawn taken out as a lump sum. Earnings on any excess amount in your retirement account are taxed at 15%.
Take cash lump sums
You can take your whole pension pot as cash straight away if you want to, no matter what size it is. You can also take smaller sums as cash whenever you need to. 25% of your total pension pot will be tax-free. You'll pay tax on the rest as if it were income.