Cbus hardship claim form

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Accessing my super

• Financial hardship
• Compassionate grounds
• Temporary residents departing Australia
• Nominating beneficiaries

When can I access my super?

Super benefits are there to fund your retirement. Generally, most of your super will be preserved. This means that you’re only able to access your super when you've reached:

• Your preservation age and have permanently retired
• Your preservation age and are starting to transition to retirement (income stream)
• 60 and have ceased a gainful employment arrangement
• 65 years old (it doesn't matter if you've retired)

You can also access your preserved super if you meet a condition for early release. If some of your super is unrestricted non-preserved, you can access this at any time. You’ll be able to see if any of your super is unrestricted non-preserved by logging into your account or checking your most recent statement.

What’s my preservation age?

From 1 July 2024, you are of preservation age if you are at least 60 years of age.

Can I access my super early?

In certain situations you may be allowed to withdraw your preserved super early. These include:

• Severe financial hardship
• Compassionate grounds
• Temporary residents permanently departing Australia
• Terminal medical condition
• Permanent incapacity

For more information and other circumstances, see early access to your super on the ATO website.

Severe financial hardship

If you are in severe financial hardship, you can apply to us for the early release of some of your preserved super. You will need to meet the following conditions:

1. You have been on an eligible Commonwealth Government income support payment * for a continuous period of 26 weeks, and

2. You are unable to meet reasonable and immediate family living expenses.

You can withdraw a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $10,000.

You can only make one withdrawal from your Cbus Super account in any 12-month period.

1. You have been on an eligible Commonwealth Government income support payment for a cumulative period of 39 weeks after you have reached your preservation age, and

2. You are not gainfully employed on a full or part-time basis on the date of the application for your benefit.

As part of your application, you’ll need to confirm you're receiving eligible Commonwealth Government income support by providing us authority to verify this directly with Centrelink. Eligible Commonwealth Government income support payment includes an income support supplement, service pension, social security benefit (excluding austudy or a youth allowance) or a social security pension (this is not an exhaustive list).

If we are unable to verify you are receiving an eligible Commonwealth Government income support payment, we can’t assess your claim.