ESSS Defined Benefit Fund - ESSSuper (2024)

January 26 2024

No one knows your ESSS Defined Benefit Fund better than ESSSuper.

The ESSS Defined Benefit Fund (ESSS DB Fund) is an open fund for operational employees of Victoria's Emergency Services. For details about the fund, read the ESSS Defined Benefit Fund Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), available on our PDS and handbookspage.

The end benefit for defined benefit funds is calculated differently from an accumulation-style fund. As an ESSS DB Fund member, your benefit depends on a number of elements: your salary, age, period of service, contribution rates and full or part-time employmentstatus.

Your defined benefits are not impacted by investmentperformance.

Benefits andrisks

There are a range of benefits within your ESSS DB Fund membership,including:

• Your defined benefit is not impacted by investmentperformance
• There are no contribution fees and management fees are met by youremployer
• You can make binding and non-binding beneficiarynominations
• You can increase your contribution level,and
• Provided you meet a release requirement, benefits are payable on retirement, resignation, dismissal, retrenchment, death, anddisability.

There is the risk that your nominated contribution rate and/or period of service may not result in a high enough benefit to sustain you in retirement. However, there are ways to increase your retirementbenefit.

Or, you may want to increase your insurance cover to further cover you and your family in the case of death, disablement, or terminal illness. You can elect to top up your insurance* cover using our AccumulationPlan.

How your ESSS DB Fundworks

Throughout your working life, your employer will make contributions to your ESSS DB Fund on your behalf, at a rate determined by you, generally ranging from 0% to 7%. There are also special catch-up contribution rates available if you choose not to contribute for a period of time or contribute less than the maximum. Note: not all members can contribute above 5% (i.e. some non-operational members). Refer to the PDS, available on our PDS and handbooks web page, fordetails.

When you want to access your benefit, provided you meet a condition of release, your benefit will be calculated using a formula which takes into account a number of elements, such asyour:

• Salary
• Age
• Period of service
• Contribution rates, and
• Full or part-time employment status.

When you terminate employment you have a number of options. Ask us about transferring^** your benefit into the Accumulation Plan, which will give you the flexibility to continue to receive employer contributions while you are still working, increase your insurance cover^*, nominate beneficiaries, or purchase one of our award-winning incomestreams.

Disability benefits

ESSS Defined Benefit (DB) Fund members who are under age 55 (operational) or 60 (non-operational) or are police recruits have disability cover regardless of whether they're on or off duty. After applying for a benefit, ESSSuper will determine whether you're eligiblefor:

• A temporary pension (with payments that don't reduce your retirementbenefit)
• A permanent disability pension or lump sum benefit (depending on your age),or
• An ill-health retirement lump sumbenefit.

About temporary pensions

If you're eligible, a temporary pension may bepayable:

• If it appears you're likely to substantially recover from your injury, disease, orinfirmity
• For a 'first limited period' of up to one year, with a maximum period of up to two years (as long as you don't finish employment and medical evidence supports continuation of thebenefit).

ESSSuper will make a decision on a disability claim after you've attended at least two independent medical examinations with Board-approveddoctors.

To learn more or complete an application form, please refer to our Claiming a disability benefit (defined benefit) fact sheet, available in the 'Looking after your loved ones' section of our Publications webpage.

Partnering your ESSS Defined Benefit Fund with an AccumulationPlan

Find out all about our Accumulation Planhere.

You can open an Accumulation Plan today, even if you are stillworking.

There are some potential benefits to doing this, such as consolidating your super**, topping up your insurance*, increasing your end benefit, or accessing a Working IncomeStream.

We recommend checking out the Accumulation Plan page or contacting us for further information about partnering your defined benefit with an AccumulationPlan.

Working part-time in the transition toretirement

As you approach retirement, it can be helpful to make changes at work to ease thetransition.

One way to do this is by reducing your hours or changing to a more flexible role. To make the transition gradual, you canconsider:

• Talking to your employer about your options, e.g. purchasing extraleave
• Discussing your needs with your family,and
• Meeting with a Financial Advisor^† to make aplan.

If your super is in our ESSS Defined Benefit Fund, reducing your hours is unlikely to have an impact on the Final Average Salary used to calculate your retirement benefit, although it will impact your benefits by reducing the rate at which your super accumulates. You can find out more in the PDS available on our PDS and handbooks webpage.

Planning for your future can be a daunting task, but you're not alone. Contact us for expert information and financial advice about your super from one of our Financial Advisers.^† You may also benefit from meeting with a Member Education Consultant for general advice about your ESSSuper account, such as what happens if you leave an operationalrole.

On the other hand, if you want to increase your take-home pay before retiring, youcould:

• Work extra hours at your currentjob
• Look for additional work outside of your current job (which may be subject to approval by your current employer), or
• Ask for a payrise.

However, before taking any action to increase your take-home pay, it's important toconsider:

• Talking to your employer about overtimeoptions
• Checking your conditions ofemployment
• How much tax you will need to pay on any extraincome
• The impact on your work/lifebalance.

Accessing your superannuation whileworking

If you'd like to reduce your work hours without decreasing your income, accessing your super while working could be an option. You may be able to access a transition to retirement pension such as our Working Income Stream to dothis.

To access a Working Income Stream you needto:

• Have some or all of your super in an accumulation account (not a defined benefit),and
• Have reached your superannuation preservationage.

It's crucial to be aware that drawing on your superannuation while still working will mean having less money when youretire.

You can learn more about transitioning to retirement on the Government's Moneysmartwebsite.

Permanent disability pension or lump sumbenefits

A permanent disability benefit will be payable to qualifying members suffering from a disability (as defined) asfollows:

• A permanent disability pension will be paid to operational members aged under 55 years or non-operational members aged under 60 years that qualify for a permanent disability benefit and satisfy the eligibility requirements,and
• A lump sum benefit will be paid to operational members aged 55 and over^* and non-operational members aged 60 and over that qualify for a permanent disability benefit and satisfy the eligibilityrequirements.

Please note that operational members must terminate service before age 55 and non-operational members must terminate service before age 60 to qualify for the disability pension. If termination of service occurs at or after age 55 for operational members^* and at or after age 60 for non-operational members a lump sum equal to the member's accrued benefit at date of termination is payable instead of thepension.

For a claim to be accepted, the member must be suffering from a disability as defined in the relevant Act. The benefit is payable from the first day after the member retires on disabilitygrounds.

^* If you are a Victoria Police member aged 55 to 59 inclusive who has needed to claim their accrued benefit because you have sustained a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD), an additional payment may be available to you via the Victoria Police Death and Disability Benefits Contingency Fund, administered by the Department of Justice and Community Safety. Members must claim their accrued benefit from ESSSuper in order to access the Contingency Fund. For more information about the Contingency Fund, including the eligibility criteria, please visitjustice.vic.gov.au/victoriapolicecontingencyfund

Emergency Services Superannuation Board ABN28161296741 (ESSB), the Trustee of the Emergency Services Superannuation Scheme ABN85894637037 (ESSSuper). The information contained on this web page is of a general nature only. It should not be considered as a substitute for reading the relevant ESSSuper Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) that contains detailed information about ESSSuper products, services and features. Before making a decision about an ESSSuper product, you should consider the appropriateness of the product to your personal objectives, financial situation and needs. It may also be beneficial to seek professional advice from a licensed financial planner or adviser. An ESSSuper PDS is available on our PDS and handbooks page or by contactingus.

* Insurance cover is subject to eligibility criteria and other terms and conditions in the Policy. Please read the Product Disclosure Statement relevant to your particular fund, available on our PDS and handbooks web page, for moreinformation.

** You should check any relevant exit fees you may incur, or any insurance arrangements that may be forfeited, or any other effects this transfer may have on your benefits, before rolling your money into ourfund.

^† ESSSuper Financial Advisers are authorised representatives of Link Advice Pty Ltd (Link Advice). Link Advice holds a current Australian Financial Services Licence No. 258145 and is responsible for the financial services provided to you. ESSSuper has an arrangement with Link Advice Pty Ltd to provide financial advice to ESSSuper members. ESSSuper pays Link Advice a fee for this service. Neither the Board, nor the Victorian Government, guarantee or endorse any recommendations made by Link Advice, or are responsible for the advice and actions of LinkAdvice.

^§ If you are a Victoria Police member aged 55 to 59 inclusive who has needed to claim their accrued benefit because you have sustained a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD), an additional payment may be available to you via the Victoria Police Death and Disability Benefits Contingency Fund, administered by the Department of Justice and Community Safety. Members must claim their accrued benefit from ESSSuper in order to access the Contingency Fund. For more information about the Contingency Fund, including the eligibility criteria, please visitjustice.vic.gov.au/victoriapolicecontingencyfund