Retirement Income Strategy summary
Our strategy overview
Our purpose is to help our members achieve a quality retirement. For members approaching retirement or for those who are already retired, it is important they are supported to make informed decisions before, and during, their retirement period.
This strategy addresses how we will assist members who are retired or who are approaching retirement achieve and balance the following objectives:
Maximise expected retirement income over the period of retirement
Manage expected risks to the sustainability and stability of retirement income over the period of retirement, including longevity risks, investment risks and inflation risks
Have flexible access to expected funds over the period of retirement
Important things to note
Legislation was passed requiring super funds to create a strategy which identifies the retirement needs of all members and establish a plan to address those needs.
GESB has developed this strategy to help our members understand the support, guidance and products that are available when preparing for and managing their retirement.
Through this strategy, we outline how we aim to help members answer questions such as:
- How much money will I need to meet my needs for a quality retirement?
- How can I manage my retirement income in a sustainable way?
- How can I make sure my expected retirement income remains stable?
This strategy has been developed to address the specific needs of our membership. It applies to all members of relevant schemes who are aged 50 or older. Our research has indicated that this is when members begin actively engaging with their super and planning their retirement.
Younger members can also take advantage of the strategy for their retirement planning needs on a self-service basis.
For the purposes of this strategy, we have made the following determinations:
- Members are ‘approaching retirement’ from when they are aged 50 years until when they retire
- Members are ‘retired’ from the time when they leave the workforce and begin drawing from their GESB super account(s)
For the purposes of this strategy, we have determined retirement income to include:
- The regular income a member receives from an account-based pension held within a scheme administered by GESB
- The Commonwealth Government Age Pension, where a member may be eligible based on age and relevant means tests
We understand that many members are likely to also hold financial assets outside of their GESB account and we encourage members to consider these additional sources of income.
We provide a Retirement planning calculator that allows members to input their retirement income from other sources to more accurately reflect their expected funds in retirement.
We have determined the period of retirement to be the length of time from when a member retires from the workforce and begins drawing from their super account, to the date of the member’s death.
This period will differ for everyone. It will depend on the date members are first eligible to access their super, or their preservation age, and the date and the manner in which they actually retire.
Preservation age is the earliest a member can transition to retirement, but it is usually earlier than when most people actually retire or begin to transition towards retirement.
We’re also aware it is becoming more common for people to re-join the workforce after retirement if they need or want to.
When guiding members to consider what their ‘retirement period’ means in practice, we will provide retirement income tools and projections to their life expectancy based on their date of birth.
Tailored information and support
To make sure our strategy provides tailored information and support relevant to our membership, we have identified the following member groups (or cohorts), based on account balance.
These are members with access to:
Full Age Pension and super
These are members who have retired with a low balance, ranging from $0 to $100,000, and are likely to be eligible for a full Commonwealth Government Age Pension. Their super savings provide a top-up in initial years of retirement.
Part Age Pension and super
These are members who have retired with a medium balance, from $100,000 to $500,000, and will rely on their super and other savings for the initial period of retirement. The Commonwealth Government Age Pension begins to supplement their income in the later stages of retirement.
Mostly super and savings
These are members who have retired with a high balance of $500,000 and over and, as such, are not expected to qualify for the Age Pension for most of their retirement period. They may have significant financial assets outside of super.
Extra support for vulnerable members
Extra support for vulnerable membersVulnerable members are those who may need additional support or consideration due to age, health, cognitive decline, financial literary or other circumstances. These members may also fall into any of the above cohorts based on their account balance.
We will support the above cohorts by providing relevant information, tools and products that will align with helping the member achieve the three key objectives outlined in this strategy.
How we assist members to manage their retirement income
We will proactively engage with and assist members to meet the objectives of this strategy in the following ways.
Maximise retirement income
To help members maximise their retirement income, we will provide information, tools and support to:
- Help members who are approaching retirement to understand their retirement income needs and how they can meet their financial objectives in retirement
- Help retired members understand how they can draw down on their super at a sustainable rate over their retirement period
Manage risks
To help members manage expected risks to the sustainability and stability of their retirement income, we will:
- Provide products that are designed to manage investment and inflation risks through lower volatility/lower risk investment options that manage sequencing risk
- Provide information, tools and support to:
- Help members to understand longevity, investment, inflation and sequencing risk
- Help members approaching retirement to understand what level of savings is required to meet their financial needs over the whole retirement period and what actions they can take to reach their objectives and manage longevity risk
- Help retired members understand how they can draw down super at a sustainable rate that optimises their income over the whole retirement period
Maintain flexible access to funds
To help members maintain flexible access to funds in retirement, we will:
- Provide products that offer variable drawdown amounts and frequencies that suit members’ needs, subject to legislative requirements
- Provide products that complement members’ additional sources of retirement income
Retirement income options
Our retirement income options include:
These products give members the option to withdraw their super funds as a regular pension while transitioning to retirement or when fully retired. They are designed to allow flexible access to super as an income stream while managing investment and inflation risks through choice of low-risk investment options.
Note: our RI Term Allocated Pension closed to new members in 2007.
How we help members on their retirement journey
We offer a range of services that aim to help members make informed decisions in the years leading up to, and during, retirement.
Retirement planning webinars and seminars
Find out moreOur seminars and webinars are designed to help our members grow their super and prepare for retirement.
Topics include:
- Retirement planning
- Transition to retirement
- Budgeting for retirement
- Understanding the allocated pension
- How much do I need for retirement
Retirement Options Service
Find out moreMembers can make an appointment with one of our experienced Retirement Options Service consultants, who can answer any specific questions they may have and explain their retirement options.
Online resources, forms and fact sheets
The ‘Retirement’ section of our website includes information to help members learn about how retirement works, options in retirement and what they might need to consider.
We also have a range of fact sheets for members to learn about the different ways to optimise savings leading up to retirement, such as the Contributing to your super fact sheet.
Our Retirement Income Pension Product Information Booklet provides a comprehensive overview of how our retirement income pension products work, including application forms.
Ongoing improvements to support, guidance and products
To help our members achieve a quality retirement, we’re committed to continuously improving the support, guidance and products we offer.
We will:
- Make enhancements to the existing support and guidance we offer and continue to personalise our communications to members who are approaching and in retirement
- Improve the accessibility of retirement information and make sure members have it when they need it
- Provide new and improved tools and calculators to help members nearing and in retirement make the most of their retirement period
- Review our retirement products to identify improvements and investigate extension of our retirement products to consider complementary options such as lifetime income stream products
The outcomes of this strategy will be reviewed as part of our annual reporting.
Our Retirement Income strategy will be reviewed every three years to ensure it remains relevant for members.
More information
Need help
- Find answers to some frequently asked questions
- Call us on 13 43 72
Thank you for printing this page. Remember to come back to gesb.wa.gov.au for the latest information as our content is updated regularly. This information is correct as at 27 April 2024.