Minimum you must draw this year.
Minimum annual drawdown
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Minimum per month
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The withdrawal the rules make you take
Once you move your super into an account-based pension, the earnings inside it become tax-free. That generous treatment comes with a condition set by the government: each year you must withdraw at least a minimum amount, calculated as a percentage of your balance on 1 July. The point is to make sure retirement savings are actually spent in retirement, rather than left to compound tax-free as an estate. This calculator turns the age-based percentage into the dollar figure you have to draw this year, both annually and as a monthly equivalent, so you can set up your pension payments correctly.
How the percentage climbs with age
The minimum factor starts at 4 percent while you are under 65 and steps up as you age, reaching 5 percent from 65, 6 percent from 75, 7 percent from 80, 9 percent from 85, 11 percent from 90, and 14 percent once you turn 95. The logic is straightforward: the older you are, the faster the rules expect you to draw the money down. The calculator reads your age, picks the right band, and applies it to the balance you enter. One thing to remember is that this is the floor, not a target. You are always free to draw more if you need the income, but never less.
A $500,000 balance at age 67
Suppose you are 67 with $500,000 in an account-based pension on 1 July. The 65-to-74 band sets your minimum factor at 5 percent, so the required minimum for the year is $25,000, which works out to about $2,083 a month if you draw it evenly. The table lays out the calculation and shows how the same balance would behave at a few other ages.
| Age band | Factor | Minimum on $500,000 |
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Timing quirks that trip people up
The minimum is set off your balance on 1 July, so a strong market year does not change the dollar amount you must draw until the next 1 July rolls around. If you start a pension partway through the year, the minimum is pro-rated for the days remaining, and if you start it in June you generally do not have to draw anything until the new financial year. The most common and most expensive mistake is failing to withdraw the full minimum by 30 June. Fall short and the ATO can treat the fund as having failed the pension standards for the whole year, which can claw back the tax-free status on earnings. It is worth checking the figure in March, not on the final week of June.
Who should run this calculation
This is for retirees and anyone managing a self-managed super fund in pension phase, where there is no administrator quietly enforcing the minimum for you. A practical judgement: drawing only the minimum stretches your tax-free earnings for longer, which suits people with other income. But the minimum is a withdrawal rule, not a sustainable-income rule. A 14 percent draw at 95 will deplete a balance quickly, so pair this figure with a longevity view rather than treating the minimum as a safe spending level.
Can I take the minimum as one lump sum at year end?
Yes. As long as the total payments for the year meet or exceed the minimum, the timing within the year is up to you. Many retirees draw monthly for budgeting, but a single annual payment before 30 June also satisfies the rule.
Is the pension income I draw taxed?
For most people aged 60 and over, income from a taxed super fund in pension phase is tax-free and does not even need to be declared. That is separate from the minimum drawdown rule, which governs how much you must take rather than how it is taxed.