Superannuation money may be held in one of three different phases, each with a different tax treatment.
| Phase | Generally applies… | Taxation of earnings | Taxation of withdrawals | Taxation of pension payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accumulation | While you are building up your super. | Up to 15% | See Tax on withdrawals. | N/A |
| Pre-retirement | When you have used your super to start a transition to retirement pension. | Up to 15% | See Tax on super pensions. | |
| Retirement | When you have a transition to retirement pension that has entered retirement phase because you have retired, reached age 65, have a ‘terminal medical condition’ or are permanently incapacitated.When you have used your super to start an account based pension. | 0% |