What are unrestricted non-preserved benefits?

You super savings are like adding money in a bucket. Image: Michael Leslie/Shutterstock.com

Unrestricted non-preserved benefits are portions of your super fund that you don’t need to meet any conditions to access, so they can be paid to you at any time. Typically though, you will only have this type of benefit if you are retired and have chosen to leave money in your super fund.

So let’s look at the difference between preserved and non-preserved benefits, and other ways to unlock your preserved benefits.

The difference between preserved and non-preserved benefits

By default, the majority of your super fund will be in the form of preserved benefits during your working life, and locked away so you can’t access the money until you meet any condition of release. This is the fund you hope to grow through contributions from your employer or any extra contributions you wish to make that will all help to fund your retirement.

Timothy Collins, a financial adviser at Talem Wealth, told Canstar the superannuation system has two phases: accumulation and pension.

“The easiest way to think about the two phases is to picture buckets,” he said.

“The accumulation phase is a bucket with an open top, you can put money in (within contribution rules), but you generally cannot take money out.

“When you commence a pension phase account you effectively put a lid on that bucket and a tap on the side. You can’t add any more money to that account but you can draw money out as an income stream or lump sum.

“When thinking about restricted/preserved benefits versus unrestricted non-preserved benefits, the simple view is that preserved benefits are stuck in accumulation, whereas unrestricted non-preserved benefits can be withdrawn either through a pension income or as a lump sum.”

In order to access your super fund you need to meet certain conditions of release and have reached the preservation age for retirement. That age is determined by the year in which you were born, and is slowly climbing towards 60 for everyone.

So long as you meet those conditions, the preserved benefits in your super are now unrestricted non-preserved benefits, readily accessible for you to withdraw or to help set up a pension for your retirement.

For example, you may choose to use only part of the money in your super fund to set up an account based pension for your retirement. You will only be able to withdraw from that pension subject to any minimum drawdown conditions, but that will be tax-free if you are over age 60 and retired or over age 65. You can’t contribute any more to that pension fund but you can set up multiple pensions if you like.

You may like to review relevant documents, such as a product disclosure statement (PDS) and target market determination (TMD) that may apply too.

The balance that’s left in your super fund you can still access at any time as that is considered an unrestricted non-preserved benefit.

Other ways to unlock your preserved benefits

There are other ways your preserved benefits can become unrestricted and non-preserved and these include:

when you reach age 65 (even if you haven’t retired)
if you become permanently incapacitated
if you suffer from a terminal condition and are expected to die in two years
at death

You may also have unrestricted non-preserved benefits from other sources, such as employment termination payments that were rolled into your super fund prior to 1 July, 2004.

While the rules governing if your benefits are preserved or not may seem complicated, it’s easy to find out if you have any unrestricted non-preserved benefits. Just check your latest super fund member statement, and any applicable benefits will be clearly listed as such.

Compare Superannuation with Canstar

The table below displays some of the superannuation funds currently available on Canstar’s database for Australians aged 30 to 39 with a super balance of up to $55,000. The results shown are sorted by Star Rating (highest to lowest) and then by 5 year return (highest to lowest). Performance figures shown reflect net investment performance, i.e. net of investment tax, investment management fees and the applicable administration fees based on an account balance of $50,000. To learn more about performance information, click here. Consider the Target Market Determination (TMD) before making a purchase decision. Contact the product issuer directly for a copy of the TMD. Use Canstar’s superannuation comparison selector to view a wider range of super funds. Canstar may earn a fee for referrals.

Aware Super | High Growth (Lifecycle investment)

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Active Super | Lifestage - Accelerator

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Hostplus Super | Personal - Balanced

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AustralianSuper | Balanced (Accumulation)

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UniSuper | Personal Account - Balanced (MySuper)

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Performance, fee and other information displayed in the table has been updated from time to time since the rating date and may not reflect the products as rated.
The performance and fee information shown in the table is for the investment option used by Canstar in rating of the superannuation product.
Performance information shown is for the historical periods up to 31/01/2024 and investment options noted in the table information.
Performance figures shown reflect net investment performance, i.e. net of investment tax, investment management fees and the applicable administration fees based on an account balance of $50,000. To learn more about performance information, click here.
Performance data may not be available for some products. This is indicated in the tables by a note referring the user to the product provider, or by no performance information being shown.
Please note that all information about performance returns is historical. Past performance should not be relied upon as an indicator of future performance; unit prices and the value of your investment may fall as well as rise.
Any advice on this page is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this general financial advice is right for your personal circumstances. You may need financial advice from a qualified adviser. Canstar is not providing a recommendation for your individual circumstances. See our Detailed Disclosure.
Not all superannuation funds in the market are listed, and the list above may not include all features relevant to you. Canstar is not providing a recommendation for your individual circumstances.
Canstar may earn a fee for referrals from its website tables, and from Sponsorship or Promotion of certain products. Fees payable by product providers for referrals and Sponsorship or Promotion may vary between providers, website position, and revenue model. Sponsorship or Promotion fees may be higher than referral fees. Sponsored or Promotion products are clearly disclosed as such on website pages. They may appear in a number of areas of the website such as in comparison tables, on hub pages and in articles. Sponsored or Promotion products may be displayed in a fixed position in a table, regardless of the product’s rating, price or other attributes. The table position of a Sponsored or Promoted product does not indicate any ranking or rating by Canstar. For more information please see How We Get Paid.
Click here for additional important notes and liability disclaimer.

Performance and Investment Allocation Differences

Fee, performance and asset allocation information shown in the table above have been determined according to the investment profile in the Canstar Superannuation Star Ratings methodology.
Some providers use different age groups for their investment profiles which may result in you being offered or being eligible for a different product to what is displayed in the table. See here for more details.
Australian Retirement Trust Super Savings’ allocation of funds for investors aged 55-99 differ from Canstar’s methodology – see details here.
The Australian Retirement Trust Super Savings (formerly Sunsuper for Life) product may appear in the table multiple times. While you will not be offered any single investment option, this is to take into account the different combinations of investment options Australian Retirement Trust may apply to your account based on your age. For more detail in relation to the Australian Retirement Trust (formerly SunSuper for Life) product please refer to the PDS issued by Australian Retirement Trust for this product.
Investment profiles applied initially may change over time in line with an investor’s age. See the provider’s Product Disclosure Statement and TMD and in particular applicable age groups for more information about how providers determine their investment profiles.

Cover image source: Michael Leslie/Shutterstock.com

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This article was reviewed by our Sub Editor Jacqueline Belesky before it was updated, as part of our fact-checking process.

Michael Lund

Former Senior Finance Journalist

Michael is an award-winning journalist with more than three decades of experience. As a senior finance journalist at Canstar, Michael's written more than 100 articles covering superannuation, savings, wealth, life insurance and home loans. His work's been referenced by a number of other finance publications, including Yahoo Finance and The Motley Fool.

Michael's worked as a reporter and producer for the BBC and ABC, including for Australian Story. He's also worked as a feature writer for The Courier-Mail and as a science and technology editor and commissioning editor at The Conversation.

Michael's professional awards include a Queensland Media Award and a highly commended in the Walkleys. In 2021 he was part of a team that was a finalist in the Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Science Journalism. He holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and applied physics (Manchester Metropolitan University) and a Masters of Science in pure mathematics (Liverpool University).

You can connect with Michael on LinkedIn.

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