What to review before reducing or leaving full-time work

General information only. This article does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Official sources were checked on 20 October 2026. Rules, rates and thresholds change, so confirm current details before you act.

Reducing your hours or leaving full-time work changes several things at once: your pay, your leave, your super contributions and sometimes your insurance. Each change has its own timing. Reviewing them together, before you give notice or sign a new arrangement, makes it easier to see which decisions depend on which.

This guide covers six areas to review: the shape and timing of the change, household cash flow, work and leave details, super questions, government support questions, and who to confirm each answer with. It does not tell you whether to make the change.

Start with the shape and timing of the change

Moneysmart's guide to making a retirement plan notes that there is no fixed age at which you must retire. Money, health and when you feel ready to stop all shape the timing, and for some people health or changing work opportunities takes the decision out of their hands. It is worth deciding what kind of change you mean before you review the numbers.

A step down. Fewer days or hours with the same employer.
A clean finish. A last day of paid work, with no plan to return.
A change of work. Finishing one job and moving to casual, contract or self-employed work.
A staged change. A step down now, with a further step in a year or two.

Then list the dates that may matter. These are checkpoints, not recommendations:

The date your notice would take effect, and your final pay date.
The date you reach your preservation age. The ATO's table sets preservation age by date of birth.
The date you turn 65, when the ATO says you can withdraw super even if still working.
The date you reach Age Pension age. Services Australia gives it as 67 or older.
Any date a partner's work or income is due to change.

Seeing these dates on one page often shows a gap between when pay reduces and when other income sources could begin. How you bridge that gap is a question worth taking to a qualified professional, with your figures in hand.

Rebuild household cash flow

Cash flow is the simplest review to start and the one most likely to change your questions. Compare what comes in with what goes out, before and after the change.

Income before and after

Take-home pay now, and the take-home pay you expect once hours change. Because tax is not proportional to hours, check a payslip or an estimate rather than reducing pay in proportion.
Any other regular income, such as rent or part-time work.
Money you may draw from savings or super, if you are considering that. Note that this is a question to verify, not an assumption.

Spending before and after

Twelve months of actual spending, grouped using categories such as housing, utilities, food, health and leisure, and transport. Moneysmart's retirement plan guide shows these groups.
Costs that may fall, such as commuting or work clothing, and costs that may rise, such as time at home, hobbies, travel or health expenses.
Debt repayments. Moneysmart lists paying down debt before retirement as one of several options people consider, which makes your loan balances and repayment dates part of the review.

A hypothetical example

Suppose a hypothetical worker takes home $1,900 a week and plans to move to three days. After checking a payslip estimate, they expect take-home pay of about $1,200 a week. Their records show household spending of $1,350 a week. That is a gap of $150 a week, or $7,800 over 52 weeks. The figures are invented for illustration. What matters is the process: the gap is now a specific number, which turns a vague worry into a question. Where could this amount come from, from what date, and what does each option affect?

Read your work and leave details

The details of your employment arrangements decide what happens on your last day. Gather your contract, award or enterprise agreement, and your latest leave balances, then check:

Notice. How much notice you must give and how much you may receive.
Annual leave. The Fair Work Ombudsman says employers must pay out unused annual leave when employment ends, at the amount you would have received had you taken the leave. See its page on payment for annual leave.
Long service leave. Unused long service leave has to be paid out at the end of employment, and pro rata payment may apply in some cases. See the Fair Work Ombudsman's long service leave page. Rules vary by state and agreement, so check the details that apply to you.
Other entitlements. Redundancy terms, salary-packaged items, work-provided insurance or health cover. Check your agreement or ask your employer rather than assuming.
Final pay timing. When the payment will arrive, since it affects your cash flow in the weeks after your last day.

If you reduce hours instead of leaving, ask which of these change and which stay the same. Leave accrual, super contributions and insurance can each be linked to hours worked.

List your super questions

Super is often the largest source of retirement income, and it follows its own rules. These questions can help you prepare for a conversation with your fund.

Access

Which condition of release could apply to me, and when? The ATO lists the conditions of release, including reaching preservation age and retiring, turning 65, and starting a transition to retirement income stream.
How does the fund interpret "retirement" for my situation? The ATO says retirement means you have ceased paid employment under specific age conditions, and that the fund must be satisfied you have no intention of becoming employed again. If you plan to keep some paid work, ask the fund how that affects access.

Options and costs

What choices does the fund offer: leaving money where it is, an income stream, a lump sum or a combination? Moneysmart sets these out in its page on what happens to your super when you retire.
Once money leaves super, can it go back in? Moneysmart warns you may not be able to put it back, so ask before you act.
What are the fees, and what investment option will apply?
What insurance do I have through the fund, and what happens to it when I stop work? Moneysmart notes that cover may change or end.

Contributions and tax

Moneysmart says employers usually stop paying super when you stop working. If you are reducing hours, ask your employer how contributions will change.
How will tax apply to any payments from my fund? Moneysmart says most people aged 60 and over do not pay tax on income from a super income stream from a taxed fund, but different rules apply to people under 60, to untaxed funds and to some other situations. See its page on retirement income and tax.

List your support questions

Government support depends on age, residency, income and assets. For most readers, the first support question is about the Age Pension. Services Australia says you can submit a claim in the 13 weeks before you reach Age Pension age, and that it will ask for supporting documents. Its page on how to prepare to claim explains the process.

Questions to take to Services Australia:

When do I reach Age Pension age, and what would I need to claim?
How would Services Australia treat my super, savings, property and work income under the income test and assets test?
How would my partner's income and assets be counted?
What support might apply to me before Age Pension age, if any?

Services Australia's Financial Information Service is free and aims to inform and educate about financial matters.

Who to confirm each answer with

Your employer and the Fair Work Ombudsman: notice, final pay, leave and entitlements.
Your super fund: access, options, fees, insurance and how it applies the rules to you.
The ATO or a registered tax professional: tax on income, super payments and any work income.
Services Australia: Age Pension timing, income and assets assessments, and reporting obligations.
A licensed financial adviser: questions that depend on your whole situation, such as how to combine super, savings and work income. Check the adviser on ASIC's Financial Advisers Register.

A one-page review to take with you

Before you decide, try to complete this page. Each blank is a prompt, not a requirement.

The change I am considering, in one sentence.
The dates that matter, with the source for each.
My expected income and spending before and after, marked as confirmed or estimated.
My leave balances and final pay details, from my employer's records.
My super accounts, with the questions I will ask each fund.
My support questions for Services Australia.
The questions that need a licensed professional.

If a section stays blank, you have found the next thing to confirm.

Official sources used

General information only. This article does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it is not personal financial advice. Official sources were checked on 21 October 2026. Rules and thresholds change, so confirm current details with the ATO, Services Australia or a licensed financial adviser before you act.