Move your Direct Access investments to RetireAccess

You can remain invested in the Direct Access investment option when you reach retirement by transferring the Direct Access investments you hold* to a new Retirement income stream account^. You don’t need to sell-down or re-purchase your Direct Access investments* and you don’t pay capital gains tax or brokerage or transaction fees*.

Here’s how it works

When you open a Retirement income stream account, you can request a transfer and we’ll move the entire balance of your Direct Access investments (except any term deposits*) from your Personal Plus or Corporate Plus† account to your Retirement income stream account^. If you hold any term deposits, you will be unable to complete the transfer and can either wait until the term deposit matures or you can break the term deposit under limited circumstance (please refer to the Direct Access Guide). Where a term deposit is broken, a reduced rate of interest may be applied.

Your entire Direct Access investment balance* must be transferred across. Partial Direct Access transfers are not possible.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible to open a Retirement income stream account and transfer all* of your Direct Access investments from your Personal Plus or Corporate Plus† account, you need to

• Transfer a minimum total balance of $50,000 to your Retirement income stream account#

• The initial balance of your Direct Access investments must be at least $10,000 (which includes a minimum balance of $200 in the Cash Transaction Account (CTA) at all times)

• Invest $10,000 or the equivalent of 24 months’ worth of income payments (whichever is greater), in TelstraSuper investment option(s) other than Direct Access investments at all times.

Please refer to the TelstraSuper RetireAccess Product Disclosure Statement and Direct Access guide for further information.

What are the benefits of Direct Access being available in RetireAccess?

Asset

Focus on long term investment strategy

Remain invested in the market

Don't have to worry about capital gains tax

How do I get started?

If you want to transfer your Direct Access investments* to RetireAccess, you need to open a Retirement income stream account^.
If you already have a Retirement income stream account, you will need to open a new one for your Direct Access investments to be transferred into^.
Complete the online RetireAccess application form. You can conduct a full or partial transfer of your investments to your Retirement income stream account^. However, if you choose to transfer your Direct Access investments, all of your Direct Access investments must be transferred*.
For eligibility and other criteria, see above and the TelstraSuper RetireAccess PDS and Direct Access Guide.

Need help?

At TelstraSuper we’re here to help you build a secure financial future. TelstraSuper Financial Planning has a team of phone-based Advisers who can provide you with simple general advice about Direct Access and RetireAccess. There's no additional charge for our phone-based service as this is included in your TelstraSuper membership. If you require further personalised advice, we have comprehensive advisers who can assist you with portfolio construction of ETFs and term deposits with Direct Access. 

Simply give us a call on 1300 033 166 or fill in our online form.

 

FAQs

  • What are the eligibility criteria and liquidity rules for existing RetireAccess members who want to invest in Direct Access?
    •  TelstraSuper must have a valid email address for you.
    • TelstraSuper must have a valid Tax File Number recorded on your account.
    • You must invest an initial minimum balance of $50,000 in your RetireAccess Retirement income stream account.
    • You must transfer at least $10,000 worth of Direct Access investments to your RetireAccess Retirement income stream account.
    • You will be required to meet pension payment liquidity rules which are to retain a minimum of 24 months’ worth of income payments or $10,000, whichever is the greater amount, in non-Direct Access investments,.
    • You cannot appoint a reversionary beneficiary on your RetireAccess Retirement income stream account.
    • You must, at all times, have a minimum balance of $200 in your Direct Access Cash Transaction Account.
    • You must transfer your Direct Access investments to a RetireAccess Retirement income stream account. Direct Access investments are not available to members who hold a Transition to Retirement pension, or a Term allocated pension.
    • You must transfer all Direct Access investments in Personal Plus or Corporate Plus to your RetireAccess Retirement income stream account.
  • What are the eligibility criteria and liquidity rules to transfer Direct Access investments from your Personal Plus or Corporate Plus† account to a RetireAccess account?
    • TelstraSuper must have a valid email address for you
    • TelstraSuper must have a valid Tax File Number recorded on your account
    • You can only transfer your Direct Access investments to a new Retirement income stream account. Direct Access investments are not available to members who hold a Transition to Retirement income stream, or a Term Allocated Pension
    • You must invest an initial minimum balance of $50,000 in your Retirement income stream account#
    • You must transfer at least $10,000 worth of Direct Access investments to your Retirement income stream account
    • You will be required to meet the pension payment liquidity rule to retain a minimum of 24 months’ worth of income payments, or $10,000, whichever is the greater amount, in TelstraSuper investment option(s) other than Direct Access investments at all times
    • You cannot appoint a reversionary beneficiary on your Retirement income stream account
    • You must, at all times, have a minimum balance of $200 in your Direct Access Cash Transaction Account
    • You must transfer all Direct Access investments in your Personal Plus or Corporate Plus account to your Retirement income stream account. If you hold any term deposits, you will be unable to complete the transfer and can either wait until the term deposit matures or you can break the term deposit under limited circumstance (please refer to the Direct Access Guide). Where a term deposit is broken, a reduced rate of interest may be applied.
  • Can I transfer my Direct Assess investment from my Corporate Plus or Personal Plus account to a Transition to Retirement income stream account?

    No. Direct Access is available to members with a Retirement income stream account only. Members with a Transition to Retirement income stream or a Term Allocated Pension are not eligible to hold Direct Access investments.

  • Can I use the paper RetireAccess application form to transfer my Direct Access investments from Personal Plus or Corporate Plus to a RetireAccess Retirement income stream?

    No, you must use the online RetireAccess application form.

  • What happens if I have a total account balance of less than $50,000 in my pension account and I want to invest in Direct Access for the first time?
    You must have or have had an initial minimum balance of $50,000 in your Retirement income stream account in order to invest in Direct Access for the first time, otherwise you cannot register for Direct Access.
    Our support team can refer you to the Guidance Support Team or TelstraSuper Financial Planning for further advice.

  • What happens if I hold a Direct Access term deposit in my Personal Plus or Corporate Plus account† and want to transfer it to a Retirement income stream account?
    Term deposits cannot be transferred from your Personal Plus or Corporate Plus account† to your Retirement income stream account. You will need to wait for the term deposit to mature or break the term deposit before you can transfer your other Direct Access investments to your Retirement income stream account. Where a term deposit is broken, a reduced rate of interest may be applied.

    You should consider the timing of investing in new term deposits if you plan to move your Direct Access investments to a Retirement income stream account in the next 12 months.
  • What investments can I transfer across to RetireAccess?
    • Australian shares that form part of the S&P/ASX 300 Index
    • Other listed securities such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) approved by the Trustee.
  • What happens if I have nominated a reversionary beneficiary on my Retirement income stream account?
    You cannot have a reversionary beneficiary on your Retirement income stream account and register for Direct Access.
    If you have existing Direct Access investments in a Personal Plus or Corporate Plus† account and wish to transfer these investments to a new Retirement income stream account, you will not be able to nominate a reversionary beneficiary.
  • What if I don’t maintain at least $10,000 or the equivalent of 24 months’ worth of pension payments, whichever is greater, invested in TelstraSuper investment option(s) other than Direct Access investments?

    The Trustee is legally required to make minimum annual pension payments to you to ensure that your pension complies with the relevant pension rules. Your income payments are funded from your other TelstraSuper investment options because it can be harder to sell assets held in the Direct Access investment option compared to other investment options.

    Each 1 July we will review your investments and let you know whether you have less than $10,000 or 24 months’ worth of income payments (whichever is greater) invested in investments other than Direct Access. If you do, we may require you to redeem some of your Direct Access investments and invest that part of your account balance in TelstraSuper investment option(s), other than Direct Access investments.
    Despite this rule, there is a small risk that one or more assets you hold in the Direct Access investment option may be unable to be sold and you may not have enough funds left in your other investment options to allow the minimum pension to be paid. For example, this might occur where there is a trading halt on the shares of a particular company listed on the ASX or other corporate action making an asset illiquid. If there are insufficient liquid funds in your account balance for the Trustee to make the minimum annual pension payment to you because you hold illiquid or unsaleable assets in the Direct Access investment option, then the Trustee will effectively be compelled by law to close your Retirement income stream account because the minimum income payment requirements cannot be made.
    There is also the potential for you to lose the entire value of your Direct Access investment but only if all your Direct Access investments become unsaleable and their values need to be written down to nil. However, this issue should not affect your Retirement income stream account in the first two years of your investment in the Direct Access investment option.


^Excludes Transition to retirement income stream accounts and Term allocated pensions. Also excludes Retirement income stream accounts with a reversionary beneficiary nomination. Other eligibility criteria and terms and conditions apply. See above and refer to the Direct Access Guide and RetireAccess PDS for details.
*Direct Access term deposits cannot be transferred to a Retirement income stream account. If you are invested in a term deposit, you will need to wait for the term deposit to mature or break the term deposit before you can transfer your Direct Access investment options to RetireAccess. Where a term deposit is broken, a reduced rate of interest may be applied.
#When commencing a Retirement income stream, you’ll be subject to the transfer balance cap. This cap is the maximum amount that can be transferred into a tax-free income stream and includes your Retirement income stream with TelstraSuper plus any amounts you may have in tax-free income streams with other super funds (including any Commonwealth Super Scheme benefit). The amount of your transfer balance cap depends on your circumstances. If you exceed the transfer balance cap, you’ll be required to reduce the amount held in a tax-free income stream. You’ll also pay tax on the excess amount, including interest. For more information visit the ATO website www.ato.gov.au
†If you are a defined benefit member and wish to open a pension account from your Voluntary Accumulation Account (VAA) or productivity account, please call us.

 Before you act on any general advice in this document, you should consider whether it is appropriate to your individual circumstances. Before making any decisions, you should obtain and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. Past performance is no indication of future performance.