← Knowledge baseSuper, tax & contributions

Other income streams (DB pensions, annuities, foreign pensions)

Lifelong income outside super — a defined-benefit pension, annuity, or foreign pension like US Social Security — modelled as a first-class source that offsets your drawdown.

Some retirees have guaranteed lifelong income that isn't super drawdown — a defined-benefit pension, an annuity, or a foreign pension such as US Social Security. The planner models these as income streams: they offset how much you draw from savings, and you set three things for each — whether it's indexed (keeps its real value) or fixed, whether it's taxable, and whether it's assessable for the Age Pension income test.

Why a lifelong pension is worth so much

An indexed lifelong pension is unusually valuable: it's inflation-proof, it can be tax-free from Age Pension age (the seniors offset covers a modest income), and it's only *partially* means-tested. So a relatively small super balance can top it up to a comfortable lifestyle. The trade-off is that the income counts in the income test, tapering any Age Pension.

Add income streams in the wizard's 'Other income' step — it's a core plan fact, not a what-if.

Try it — worked examples

Related concepts

See it in your own plan

Model your super, the Age Pension and how long your money lasts — free, in today's dollars.

Open the planner