1 Start Your Retirement
8 Steps
- Check if your super fund has an online calculator to help estimate your account balance at your intended retirement date. Or use the ASIC MoneySmart online retirement planner tool to create an estimate.
- Establish how much you are likely to have at retirement based on your current super contributions. You should deduct from this balance any outstanding debts that you might repay from this super balance, for example paying off your mortgage. Use the calculator to work out how much you could have at retirement if you increase your regular contributions by different amounts.
- Check the annual cost of your preferred lifestyle in retirement lifestyle.
- Write a simple outline of your likely retirement income and your likely retirement expenses (regular and one-off).
- Compare how the retirement income you are currently on track to receive compares with your likely retirement expenses.
- Work out if need to add more contributions to boost your super account and eventual retirement income.
- Set a goal for how much you would like in your super account on your intended retirement date.
- Consider whether you have sufficient time and interest to manage your own self-managed super fund (SMSF) now, or in retirement.