Eligible Termination Payments (ETP) An Eligible Termination Payment (ETP) is the payment you receive when you cash in your superannuation benefits. This usually occurs after retirement or under certain restricted circumstances. Preservation of Contributions Any superannuation contribution made by you or your employer after the 1st of July 1999 is considered preserved and cannot be retrieved until you have reached your preservation age. For individuals born before the 1st of July 1960, the preservation age is 55 years. This increases by a year for each consecutive year thereafter up till the 1st of July 1964, whereby if you were born after that date, your preservation age is 60 years. Any contributions made prior to the 1st of July 1999 may or may not be preserved depending on the nature of the contribution. Non-preserved contributions may be cashed in at any stage based on the rules governing the super fund. To find out which components of your superannuation fund are preserved and non-preserved, and to determine if you can access your non-preserved benefits, contact the manager of your super fund. Early Release of Superannuation Benefits You can only cash in on your superannuation benefits before the preservation date under exceptional circumstances. This can include being permanently incapacitated or permanently leaving Australia. Early Release Due To Severe Financial Hardship If you are under 55 years and 39 weeks old, your superannuation fund trustees may agree to release a lump sum payment of between $1,000 to $10,000 if you are suffering from severe financial hardship. To be considered as suffering from severe financial hardship you must have demonstrated an inability to meet your family's living expenses as well as being in receipt of Commonwealth income support payments for the last 26 weeks. If you are over 55 years and 39 weeks old, your trustees may release your entire benefit if you are unemployed and have received Commonwealth income support payments for a total of 39 weeks after reaching 55 years of age. Specified Grounds For Early Release Apart from severe financial hardship, you may be granted early release of your benefits in the event that it becomes critical that payments be made towards medical transport or treatment, home mortgages or funeral/burial expenses. In these cases, you will need to get approval from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) who will determine if your situation meets the specified grounds for early release. Taxation Depending on the situation, the lump sum amount paid may be subject to tax. For more information, please see our article on superannuation taxation.