Hello Chasers,
Superannuation is designed to provide a comfortable retirement, but there are specific circumstances where you can access it early. This article focuses on accessing your super on compassionate grounds, managed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Note: Accessing your super early is generally not recommended as it reduces your retirement savings. It should only be considered as a last resort when you have no other means to cover essential expenses.
Compassionate Grounds for Early Release
The ATO can approve the early release of your superannuation if you meet strict criteria and have no other way to pay for essential expenses. The five main grounds for compassionate release are:
- Medical Treatment or Transport: This covers necessary medical treatment or transport for yourself or a dependant (e.g., spouse, child).
- Accommodating a Disability: This includes expenses for modifications to your home or vehicle to accommodate a disability for yourself or a dependant.
- Palliative Care: This applies to expenses related to palliative care for a terminal illness for yourself or a dependant.
- Funeral Expenses: This covers reasonable funeral expenses for a dependant.
- Preventing Foreclosure or Forced Sale of Your Home: This allows access to super to prevent losing your home due to mortgage arrears.
Focus on Medical Treatment
Let’s delve deeper into accessing super for medical treatment. The treatment must be necessary to:
- Treat a life-threatening illness or injury.
- Alleviate acute or chronic pain.
- Alleviate acute or chronic mental illness. 1
Key Requirements for Medical Treatment Applications:
- Medical Reports: You need two medical reports with your application. One must be from a specialist treating one of the conditions listed above (life-threatening illness/injury, acute/chronic pain, or acute/chronic mental illness).
- Treatment Necessity: The reports must explicitly state that the treatment is necessary to treat or alleviate one of these conditions.
- Public Health System Unavailability: The reports must also confirm that the required treatment is not readily available through the public health system. This means that if the treatment is available publicly within a reasonable timeframe, your application is unlikely to be approved.
The Application Process and ATO Resources:
The ATO administers the compassionate release of super. You’ll need to apply directly to them, providing all required documentation, including the necessary medical reports if applying on medical grounds. The ATO will assess your application based on the information provided and the eligibility criteria.
For detailed information, application forms, and guidance on compassionate release of superannuation, please visit the official ATO website:
This link will take you directly to the relevant section of the ATO website, where you can find the most up-to-date information and resources.
To summarise:
- Accessing super early should be a last resort.
- Compassionate release has strict eligibility criteria.
- For medical treatment, you need two medical reports confirming the necessity of the treatment and its unavailability in the public system.
- The ATO handles the application process.
If you believe you meet the criteria for compassionate release, visit the ATO website (linked above) for detailed information and application forms. It’s also recommended to seek financial advice to understand the long-term impact of accessing your super early, we are available to discuss this with you.
Have a great day!
