eligible service period

abbrev. ESP, used to calculate the pre-July 1983 and post-June 1983 components of an eligible termination payment. For an employee, the ESP starts on the date a job begins with the employer making the superannuation contributions, regardless of the date the employee actually joins the fund. For self-employed people, ESP starts on the date fund membership begins. Where benefits from a superannuation fund or employer are rolled over, the period of membership of the fund or the period of employment with the old employer is also counted to determine the total ESP within the new fund. The period is calculated as the number of days.

Where the ESP start date is pre July 1983, the ESP date is also used to calculate the crystallised part of the tax free component of a member's benefit.

See also eligible termination payment , post-30 June 1983 component , pre-1 July 1983 component , service period , employment termination payment