There are 3 ways you can become a member:

• As a new employee of the Telstra Group
• As family of an existing member
• As a former Telstra Group employee

You can use your super to open a Telstra Super RetireAccess income stream provided you have at least $10,000 in your account and you meet one of the following criteria:

• you have reached preservation age (currently age 55)
• you have applied and been approved to receive a Total & Permanent Disablement benefit.

Your ability to access your super depends on your preservation age  and the components of your super that are preserved and restricted non-preserved . Depending on how long you've been working and contributing to your super, you may also have some funds available that are classed as unrestricted non-preserved  (available as cash at any time). If you change employers any restricted non-preserved funds you may have become unrestricted non-preserved.

Although you will have access to these funds, there may be tax implications. You should consider the consequences of withdrawing them carefully, particularly given that super is tax-free from age 60. Telstra Super Financial Planning can advise you how best to minimise tax in line with your personal circumstances and obligations.

Yes you can apply for top-up cover! Telstra Super Casuals and Telstra Super RetireAccess members may apply for any amount of death cover however, are ineligible to apply for TPD cover. Other members can nominate any amount of death cover and up to $3 million for TPD, however Telstra Super Corporate Plus, Telstra Super Division 2, Telstra Super Division 5 and Sensis Super Plus members must nominate a death cover amount equal to or higher than your level of TPD cover. Telstra Super Personal Plus members must be continuously employed working more than 15 hours per week in order to apply for TPD cover.

Yes. You are able to change the amount and/or frequency of your payments twice a year. These must be advised to Telstra Super Pty Ltd by the 20th of the month to be effective for the current month. Change requests received after this date will be effective the following month.

Yes you can – at any time.

No, you cannot contribute directly into an existing Telstra Super RetireAccess account. However, you can open up, or continue to contribute to, a Telstra Super Personal Plus account and subsequently roll over these funds to a new Telstra Super RetireAccess account. 

Your eligibility for income protection depends on which super arrangement you are in.

Yes.

You can set up an income stream under the Government's Transition to Retirement rules if you are over preservation age  (currently age 55) and still working. While you draw an income from your Telstra Super RetireAccess account, you can make pre-tax contributions (salary sacrifice) to your accumulation account to reduce the tax you pay on your take-home salary and boost your super.

We recommend you seek advice from Telstra Super Financial Planning as the strategy involved in implementing this is quite complex.

Most employers allow you to make pre-tax contributions from your salary to your superannuation. To find out if you can, or to arrange this, contact your payroll office.

There are contribution limits on the amount of pre-tax contributions you can make.

Yes you can. By pooling your super into the one account you will pay one low administration fee, competitive investment management fees and reduce the headache of having your super in lots of different accounts. Plus we won't charge you any fees for transferring your money into Telstra Super. Save yourself some money and hassles.

If you are a Defined Benefit member, any super you transfer from another fund will be rolled into your Voluntary Accumulation Account (VAA). If you do not already have a VAA one will be set up for you.

Simply complete a Consolidate your super form (857kb) and send it to us. We will write to you when the money has been received.

Any part of your super savings categorised as preserved must remain in an approved superannuation arrangement until certain circumstances occur - such as your death, permanent incapacity, or your permanent retirement from the workforce on or after preservation age. In special circumstances you may be able to withdraw preserved funds due to financial hardship.

Yes, Telstra Super Personal Plus accepts regular Superannuation Guarantee contributions from your employer provided you are under age 70.

To arrange for your employer to contribute to your Telstra Super Personal Plus account, call 1300 033 166 or request an Employer Contribution Kit using our enquiry form. Provide the kit, along with your completed Choice form specifying Telstra Super as your fund of choice, to your employer. Get your employer to complete the Employer Contribution Application form and return it to Telstra Super.

The main difference is the way in which your benefit grows. With a defined benefit, which is based on a set calculation, growth is linked to contributions, salary and length of service. With an accumulation arrangement growth accumulates via contributions and investment returns.

Whether you are better off in accumulation or defined benefit arrangement will depend on your personal circumstances. If you are considering changing from a defined benefit into an accumulation arrangement we recommend you talk to Telstra Super Financial Planning before making the move. It is not possible to change from an accumulation arrangement into a defined benefit arrangement, as Telstra Super’s defined benefit arrangements are closed to new members.

Compare the features of both arrangements, as they compare, refer to the table below:

The amount of insurance cover you have depends on which super arrangement you are in and the type of cover you have elected or received automatically.

Go to ‘Insurance cover’ under My super or refer to your product disclosure statement for further details.