When circumstances change in retirement
With most Australians spending an average of 25 years in retirement1, there's a good chance your circumstances and needs will change during your retirement.
For example, you may want to change the frequency and amount of your income from super, how you're invested, or make lump sum withdrawals. You could decide to move to a smaller place or residential assisted living.
How ever your life changes in retirement, we're here to help you stay on top of your retirement savings.
Changing your super payments and account details
You can change the amount you receive from your Retirement Income (RI) Pension and how often you're paid at any time.
It's also easy to change your investment plan to make sure it continues to suit your needs and update your contact details if they change.
You can choose your payment amount, subject to minimum requirements set by the Australian Government, and choose to receive your payments monthly, quarterly or annually.
To change your payment frequency, submit the 'Change of details and pension payment variation' form. This form also allows you to change your name and bank account details.
You can make lump-sum withdrawals of $1,000 or more from your allocated pension, but you need to keep a minimum balance of $1,000 in your account (if you want to keep your account open).
You can also withdraw or rollover your entire balance and close your account.
Partial payment withdrawal
Use the 'Partial payment form, RI Allocated Pension' form to make a partial lump-sum withdrawal from your RI Allocated Pension account.
Full balance withdrawal
Use the 'Withdrawal form, Retirement Income Pension' form to withdraw your full balance or roll over to another fund and close your RI Allocated Pension or Transition to Retirement account.
If you have questions about making a withdrawal from an RI Term Allocated Pension account, please call us on 13 43 72.
We encourage you to keep track of how your investments are performing. To make sure that your investment mix still meets your retirement goals, you may need to adjust your investment plan from time to time.
You can balance your investments or change your investment plan at any time by logging into Member Online or submitting an 'Investment choice' form to us by mail.
You can update your contact details, including your residential address, email address and contact number through your Member Online account at any time.
Alternatively, you can submit a Change of details and pension payment variation form and update your details and pension payments at the same time.
Download change of details and payment form
If you prefer, you can make these changes over the phone by calling your Member Services Centre on 13 43 72, Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 5.30pm (AWST).
Nominating or changing beneficiaries
It's important that your beneficiaries, the person or people you nominate to receive your super when you pass away, are valid.
If you have a reversionary beneficiary set up for your RI Allocated Pension account, you can't change your nomination unless you open a new account, as this can only be actioned during the account application process.
Estate planning and your super
Nominating and updating beneficiaries is often part of estate planning, which includes preparing documents that record what you want done with your assets after your death. It’s important to keep your estate documents up to date if anything changes with your plan.
You may want to consider the following documents as part of your estate planning:
- Your will, including how you want your assets shared, who will look after your children if you're still young and plans for your funeral
- Super binding death nominations, clearly directing your super fund who you want your super money to go to
- Enduring power of attorney and/or enduring power of guardianship, in the event you can no longer make your own decisions
Learn more about making a will on the WA public trustee website.
Working in retirement
You may decide to go back to work casually or even part time after you retire. Returning to work after retiring can help top up your savings and have possible benefits for your social, physical and mental health.
However, if you decide to work again, you will need to make sure you understand the retirement rules as they relate to your situation so you can still access your super and the Age Pension (if eligible).
If you're thinking about going to back to work, it may be a good idea to discuss the potential impacts on your super and Age Pension with a financial adviser.
There are a few different ways you can return to work after retiring, depending on the circumstances under which you are accessing your super. These are mainly to do with your age.
If you are over 65
You can go back to work without having to worry about it impacting your access to super. No matter if you are working or not, you have full access to your super after age 65.
If you accessed your super when you ceased an employment arrangement after age 60
Under the lesser-known definition of retirement for super purposes as having an employment arrangement come to an end after reaching age 60, you can withdraw your super while continuing to work under another employment arrangement.
This could mean you effectively retired from one employer and returned to work with another, and so you can access the super you obtained under the employer you retired from without any restrictions on how many hours you continue to work.
For example, you quit one job and notified your fund that you ceased this employment arrangement before you started another job. Or perhaps you closed your business down and became an employee at another company.
Any money you earn from work will be included in the income test for your Age Pension. This means returning to work may reduce your Age Pension payments, if your income goes over the cut off set by Services Australia of $212 per fortnight for singles or $372 for couples (as at 1 July 2024).
You must report any income you and your partner get from working, even if it’s under the cut off above.
Read about working while getting the Age Pension
Work Bonus may help you earn more without affecting your pension
If you’re an eligible pensioner, the Work Bonus may help you earn more income from working without reducing your pension.
The Work Bonus reduces the amount of your eligible income included in the income test. This helps you keep more of your pension if you’re working.
Downsizing your home
There might come a time when you want to move to a smaller house. Making the move might free up money to pay off your mortgage, invest or spend; it could be easier to maintain and clean, or help you to be closer to friends and family.
Whatever the reason, downsizing in retirement is a big decision and you should consider the costs and your needs before you downsize.
Make a downsizer contribution to your super and boost your savings
If you're aged 55 or over and meet eligibility requirements, you can contribute up to $300,000 as an individual, or up to $600,000 as a couple ($300,000 in each account) from the sale of your family home into your super account.
The amount you contribute can’t be greater than the total proceeds of the sale of your home. You also need to have owned your home for at least 10 years and meet other criteria to be eligible.
Note this contribution is not tax deductible, so it may affect your Age Pension eligibility.
Understanding aged care
If you get to the stage where you're no longer able to live independently at home, even with carer support or home care services, it may be time to consider moving into an aged care home, also known as a residential aged care facility.
The decision to move to an aged care home may not be easy as it will come with big changes. For most, it has emotional and financial impacts.
Aged care costs vary, but they generally include a daily fee, accommodation fee and a means-tested care fee for care services provided.
Government funding and subsidiaries are available for a range of care services, from at home support and short-stay care, to aged care facilities. This includes financial hardship assistance if you can’t afford your aged care costs.
Changing circumstances during challenging times
With the cost of living rising, more Australians are experiencing financial hardship including the requirement to sell their family home and rent in retirement. Others are delaying downsizing as their children may be staying home longer.
These situations and the current climate may have unexpected impacts on your retirement plans.
In difficult times, there are government services available to help ease the financial pressure.
You can get rent assistance payments if you pay rent or fees in a retirement village and are getting the Age Pension or Disability Support Pension.
If you are Age Pension age or older, you can apply for a voluntary non-taxed loan under the Home Equity Access Scheme, using equity in Australian real estate as security.
Aged care financial hardship assistance may help if you need assistance to pay your aged care costs.
The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is a concession card to get cheaper health care and some discounts if you've reached Age Pension age. If you have a Seniors Health Card you may be eligible for an Energy Supplement payment.
The WA Seniors Card is a WA State Government initiative offering discounts including free off-peak travel on Transperth, rebates on local government rates and water service charges, and other special offers for seniors. In addition, the WA State Government makes a cost-of-living rebate payment each year to registered WA Seniors Card members.
Free Financial Information Service
Free Financial Information ServiceServices Australia's Financial Information Service (FIS) can help you make informed decisions about your finances. Speak to a FIS Officer or Age Care Specialist Officer, and access free online videos and live webinars about retirement and aged care.
Need help
- Call us on 13 43 72
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1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Retirement and retirement intentions Australia, 2022-23 financial year, 2024. Accessed July 2024.
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 16 June 2026.