retirement income stream

You may be eligible to open a HESTA Retirement Income Stream if you’ve:

• reached your preservation age and fully retired, or
• ceased an employment arrangement on or after age 60, or
• reached age 65, or 
• become permanently incapacitated, or be terminally ill, or
• been using a Transition to Retirement (TTR) Income Stream while continuing to work, and are now ready to stop working, or have met one of the other conditions above.

Your preservation age is the age at which you can generally start accessing your super. This is now 60 years of age unless you meet a condition of release.

See How super works (PDF) for more details.

The minimum amount you can invest is generally $50,000. If your total super balance (across all your super funds) is , you should seek financial advice before you contribute any after-tax earnings to your super as there may be tax consequences. Learn more about how after-tax contributions work in How super works (PDF) and How super is taxed (PDF).

You can also read our Income Stream PDS (PDF) for details.

The amount you choose to receive as an income is up to you – but the government has set a minimum amount that must be paid to you each year from your retirement income stream. The minimum is a percentage of your account balance at the beginning of each financial year or on the start date of your income stream (pro-rata in the first year).

You can check the details of your income stream payment frequency, drawdown and amount in your online account. To change the frequency, drawdown and amount of your income stream payments, complete the Change of income payment amount and frequency form (PDF).

When you take up a HESTA Retirement Income Stream, you may be eligible to receive the HESTA Retirement Reward. The HESTA Retirement Reward is actually a tax saving. And we want to pass it on to you when you retire.

You don’t even need to apply. The Reward is automatically added to your HESTA Retirement Income Stream account if you're eligible, whether you move from a HESTA Super or HESTA Personal Super account or a HESTA Transition to Retirement (TTR) Income Stream account.

Find out more about the Retirement Reward.

Any remaining account balance can be paid to your chosen beneficiaries after your death. You can choose who your super goes to by making a binding death benefit nomination.

Find out more about nominating beneficiaries.

The minimum drawdown is the percentage of your income stream account balance that you must withdraw each financial year.

There is no maximum drawdown amount for Retirement Income Stream members.

Minimum and maximum drawdown amounts are set by the Federal Government at the beginning of each financial year.