Under certain circumstances you may be able to access your benefit early on the grounds of severe financial hardship or other specified grounds.
There are two circumstances where early access to a benefit can be granted:
To qualify you must have been continuously receiving Commonwealth income support payments for:
or
Generally speaking, we will only release money for reasonable family expenses that are due and payable immediately and you may need to provide documentary evidence to support your application.
The amount released cannot exceed $10,000 gross and only one payment can be approved in any 12 month period.
You may consider asking the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to release benefits on specified grounds.
Circumstances in which these provisions may apply include treatment of life threatening illnesses, palliative care, funeral and burial expenses and to prevent foreclosure by a mortgagee. In all cases money can only be released if you meet the qualifying criteria.
In both cases you will need to complete a benefit application form and provide any documentary evidence that is required.
Important note: If you are a preserved benefit member and you access part of your benefit on hardship or other specified grounds during their last period of preservation before retirement, you will not be eligible for a pension as part of your final benefit.
For more information see the Early access to superannuation benefits for PSS members fact sheet.
