ESSSuper for Victorian teachers: the Revised Scheme and New Scheme explained

Which ESSSuper scheme are you in?

ESSSuper (Emergency Services and State Super) runs Victoria's closed public sector defined benefit schemes, and the Teaching Service was one of the employers they covered. If you started teaching in a Victorian government school before 1 January 1994 and never opted out, you're probably in one of two schemes. Staff who started later have an accumulation fund; the Department's default is Aware Super Future Saver. See Victorian teacher super and teacher super funds by state.

Your annual benefit statement names your scheme. Some members also transferred between schemes (for example, Revised Scheme members who moved to the New Scheme in 1994), and transferred members have their own rules and a transfer multiple. If that's you, everything below is a starting point only.

The New Scheme: a lump sum built year by year

The New Scheme is the simpler of the two. Each year of service adds a percentage of your final average salary (FAS) to your benefit, and the percentage depends on what you contribute. The handbook calls this the 'accrual rate'.

Two things stand out. First, the contribution rate you chose decades ago still matters: every year at nil instead of 5% cost 9% of FAS. Second, because the whole benefit is a multiple of final average salary, a pay rise in your last years lifts every year you've already served. That's why the timing of the VGSA 2026 rises matters so much to New Scheme members thinking of leaving in 2026 or 2027.

The Revised Scheme: a lifetime pension from 55

Revised Scheme members get a fortnightly pension for life, indexed to CPI, once they retire or resign at or after minimum retirement age (generally 55). The size of the pension depends on your FAS, your age, your recognised service, and whether you convert part of it to a lump sum. ESSSuper doesn't publish a simple multiple, so you need its estimate for your own numbers.

Contributions are compulsory and set by age, based on your highest superable salary up to 1 May each year. At 50 and over you pay 9.5% of salary after tax (11.2% if salary sacrificed). On $118,063 that's about $11,216 a year. Superable salary includes base salary, higher duties held continuously for 12 months or more, and approved allowances, but not leave loading. For part-time staff it's always the full-time-equivalent value.

Converting the pension to a lump sum

When you retire or resign after minimum retirement age you can convert up to 50% of the fortnightly pension, or 100%, to a lump sum. You must elect within three months before or after your retirement date. If you miss that window, you get a second chance in the three months before your 65th birthday, effective at 65. Converting 100% ends all further pension payments, including to your partner.

Option B gives you about $31,000 more cash now, but halves what a surviving partner would get. That's a personal decision with long-term consequences, and it's exactly the kind of call to make with ESSSuper's education team or a licensed adviser.

Ages that matter: 55, 60, 65 and 75

• 55 (minimum retirement age): the Revised Scheme pension and the New Scheme age retirement benefit become available when you retire or resign. Some Prescribed Class Officers can retire from 50; teachers aren't in that group.
• 60 (preservation age): for anyone born after 30 June 1964. If you take a Revised Scheme pension between 55 and preservation age, ESSSuper pays it at the untaxed equivalent, then reduces it to the taxed level at preservation age, when the 15% tax offset starts. Preserved lump sum amounts stay in the scheme (or are rolled over) until you meet a condition of release.
• 65: if you turned 65 on or after 1 July 2010, you stay an accruing member until you stop work or reach 75, unless you choose to become an exempt officer. The Revised Scheme's second lump sum window falls in the three months before 65.
• 75: contributions must stop under Commonwealth super law.

Leave without pay, part-time and purchased leave

These are where Victorian teachers most often lose benefit without realising. The rules below are from ESSSuper's handbooks.

Contribution caps and tax

ESSSuper reports a notional taxed contribution (NTC) for your defined benefit, which counts towards the concessional cap of $32,500 for 2026–27 (ATO). It's not the same as what your employer actually pays. ESSSuper says Revised Scheme contributions are 'grandfathered', so the defined benefit part on its own is reported at no more than the cap. If you also salary sacrifice into an accumulation account, add both together before you sacrifice more. Your NTC appears on your annual benefit statement, and ESSSuper has an NTC calculator.

If your concessional contributions plus income go over $250,000 you may also pay Division 293 tax. For general background on sacrifice, see salary sacrifice super for teachers.

Before you resign: what to ask ESSSuper

ESSSuper offers member education consultants and access to licensed financial advisers. This page is general information, not personal advice. Book an appointment before any irreversible choice. Use our teacher retirement checklist to plan the years before, and compare other states' schemes in teacher defined benefit super schemes.