The Super Annuation is the Australian concept of an employer-directed retirement account. Both the worker and the employer make contributions and it matures until the worker gets old enough to retire and access these funds. If you are the recipient of such a plan, then you might be wondering when it is possible to start accessing super early. Since these plans have restrictions, it is important to know if you qualify.

A Super Annuation is a sheltered investment that exists to help workers retire. Since the goal is to create maximum profit for retirement, it is not subject to the same tax schemes as other forms of investment. Since it has to last until after retirement, it is not possible to make a withdrawal except as a last-ditch measure to avoid bankruptcy.

There are actually several grounds for accessing funds. The simplest is that the fund contains less than 200 Australian dollars because a job was not held for very long. Another reason is if a person is terminally ill. In this case, the money can be spent to provide relief and then help cover funeral costs. Terminal illness is defined as a condition that the suffering person is unlikely to recover from, in which case there is no reason to hold out on funds.

Another reason is if the person is a foreigner and is considered a temporary resident. Since the money is not likely to remain in Australia after the person leaves, there is no reason for them to keep money in an account covered by Australian laws. A foreign worker might still obtain a superannuation plan if they are working a job that they cannot keep and do not choose to remain in Australia.

The final two reasons to get your money early are to pay for your housing in the event of a severe economic shortfall or if there is some other compassionate reason to do so. If a worker runs out of regular money and cannot pay rent or housing bills and are at risk of losing housing, then this is considered to be compassionate grounds. Other reasons are more general and allow a person to make a withdrawal if oneself or a family member has great financial need.

Compassionate grounds means that a person might have other money available but are only able to accessing super early because they have no other substantial asset. The most common reason is paying for a medical bill. The money can also be applied to modifying a vehicle for a disabled family member. A final reason is just to pay for a temporary or permanent disability. Since people trying to obtain welfare often have to wait a while, they might have to dissolve available funds to pay for the wait.