Retire Easy Pension

An easier way to manage your investment and payment options

Brighter Super offers you an easy and convenient way to manage your Pension account. It’s called Retire Easy Pension, and it gives you pre-selected investment and payment options for your Pension account that automatically update over time.

• Retire Easy Pension has been designed to balance your needs for a regular income in the short term with savings growth over the medium to long term. Your regular income is paid each month, automatically set to meet the government’s minimum pension payment requirements.
• Your savings will be automatically invested into short, medium-, and long-term investment strategies that can keep your savings growing.
• Your investment and payment options are automatically rebalanced annually.
• You still have flexible access to additional money via lump sum withdrawals whenever you need it, although this will impact the length of time your pension lasts.
• Each year your investments are automatically rebalanced to ensure your investment strategy remains consistent.
• You will need to have a balance of at least $50,000 in your account to use Retire Easy Pension.

Investing for now, soon, and later - introducing the bucket strategy

When you invest in our Retire Easy Pension, the money in your Pension account is divided into three buckets according to when your money is likely to be needed – now, soon, and later. Each bucket uses one investment option, each with a different level of risk and potential return to suit the timeframe.

• Short-term bucket – two years’ worth of pension payments is invested in our Cash option. In the event of a market downturn, this arrangement allows for your regular monthly payments to be made without selling your other investment options.
• Medium-term bucket – 50% of the remainder is invested in our Balanced option.
• Long-term bucket – 50% of the remainder is invested in our Growth option.

To learn more about the different levels of risk and potential return of each of these investment options, refer to the Pension Investment and Fees Guide available at brightersuper.com.au/pds.

Pension payments made easy

The Retire Easy Pension has pre-selected settings for your regular income. Pension payments are made to your bank account on the 28th of each month.

You are automatically paid the minimum pension amount that is set by the government each year. This calculation is based on your age and account balance. For further information, refer to the Pension Product Disclosure Statement available at brightersuper.com.au/pds.

Lump sum withdrawals

When using the Retire Easy Pension service, you can still make lump sums withdrawals whenever you need additional money, although this will impact the length of time your retirement savings will last.

You can withdraw lump sums (minimum $1,000) and this will be paid proportionately from each of your three investment buckets.

Please be aware if you withdraw a lump sum amount that is large enough to empty your Cash bucket, your future pension payments and any future withdrawals will be paid equally from the Balanced and Growth investment options until your account is automatically rebalanced at the end of the financial year. This may impact the effectiveness of striking a balance between stability and savings growth. If you are invested in a Retire Easy Pension, we recommend you seek financial advice before completing a partial withdrawal.

Flexibility to change your approach

If you would prefer to choose and manage your own investment and payment options for your Pension account, you can stop using the Retire Easy Pension service at any time when you select a different investment, payment amount or payment frequency.

When managing your own account, if you want to continue with automatic rebalancing, you will need to opt-in to this service.

You can make these changes quickly and easily via Member Online. You can also complete the Change your investment options – Pension Account Form (P09) and/or the Update your Pension account Form (P04).

Both forms are available on our website at brightersuper.com.au/forms.

Further details are provided in the Pension Investment and Fees Guide for your account at brightersuper.com.au/pds.

We’re here to help

Retire Easy Pension is ideal for members who are happy for us to manage the ongoing decisions for you. It has been designed without considering your personal situation, needs or objectives. Whether it’s right for you and whether your money lasts will depend on your personal circumstances.

Talking to a financial adviser can help you to create a plan for a comfortable retirement. If you already have a financial adviser, they can help you make informed decisions about your super.

If you do not have a financial adviser, Brighter Super’s in-house team of financial advisers is here to help you. Find out more about financial advice or call us on 1800 444 396 to discuss which type of advice would suit you best.