Although superannuation is riddled with rules, anyone who knows when they can access their super and the Age Pension has the power.

There are many great things about our mandatory retirement savings system with the obvious being the money it provides once we stop working, but regulations and fine print can make it appear complicated.

Considering super is still in its infancy, it requires retirees of today - and no doubt the years ahead - to have either done their homework or have an advisor to help navigate the intricacies of the system.

The good news is you don’t need to know all of the ins and outs to manage your retirement savings effectively.

Regardless if you want to access your retirement savings or financial help from the government, your age and employment status will be the deciding factors.

As it stands today, we can access our super at age 56 - providing a range of rules are met -  almost a decade before we can get the Age Pension.

However, as our life expectancy is on the rise the age which we can access either our regulated savings or government money is increasing.

For those wanting to retire in a decade - and for this to be funded by taking a pension from super - they will need to work until age 60.

Starting a pension also triggers a change of tax rate applied to retirement savings.

Ordinarily, income is taxed at 15 per cent and capital gains up to this amount, or at 10 per cent if the asset is held for longer than a year.

Once a pension is started and savings are moved from accumulation into the pension phase, no tax is paid.

Depending on how much is saved inside super, the lower tax rate that comes with moving to the pension phase could make drawing an income from your savings worthwhile even if you don’t need the cash.

When it comes to accessing the Age Pension eligible retirees can do so at age 65, but this is also gradually increasing.

For anyone born after 1 January 1957, they won’t be able to access financial help from the government until age 67.

Admittedly, the different rules around ages and accessibility to funds can make superannuation and the retirement system appear complex, but knowing the landmark ages is a good start to being the skipper of your income in retirement.