There are two age gates in a retirement plan. Preservation age (60 for anyone retiring now) is when you can access your super. Age Pension age (67) is when the government payment can start. Retiring before either means bridging the gap with money you can actually reach.
Two bridges
- Retire before 60 — super is locked, so you live off savings and investments outside super until preservation age. This is the binding constraint for most early retirees.
- Retire 60–67 — you can draw super but not the pension yet. These are the 'bridge years' the pension eventually backstops.
The planner models both explicitly: it tracks your outside-super pool separately, spends it down through the bridge, and layers the Age Pension in from 67. If the outside pool runs dry before super unlocks, you'll see the plan fail in those years.