SMSF audience guide
SMSF for retirees: pensions, drawdowns and tax-free earnings
In retirement, an SMSF gives you something an industry fund can't: full control of which assets fund your pension payments, when capital gains are realised, and how the Transfer Balance Cap is managed across both members. Earnings on assets supporting your pension are taxed at 0% — and you decide which assets those are.
How retirement phase works in an SMSF
When you meet a condition of release — typically retirement after age 60 — you can move balances from the 15%-taxed accumulation phase into a retirement-phase account-based pension where earnings are tax-free, up to the Transfer Balance Cap ($1.9M per member in 2026).
The SMSF must pay the age-based minimum drawdown each year (4% from age 65, rising with age). Beyond that minimum you decide the timing, the amount and which assets to sell — useful when you want to delay realising a capital gain or draw down cash holdings instead of equities.
- 0% tax on earnings supporting a retirement-phase pension (up to the Transfer Balance Cap)
- Choose which assets fund pension payments — control capital gains timing
- Coordinate pensions across both members of a couple
- Binding death benefit nominations + reversionary pensions for estate planning
- TBAR lodgements handled by easySMSF as standard
- Actuarial certificates included when proportional method applies