In this guide
According to the ASFA Retirement Standard, a couple retiring at age 67 can live a ‘comfortable lifestyle’ with a retirement balance of $730,000 while singles can enjoy the same with $630,000. But these are guidelines only.
Depending on your personal circumstances, you might live comfortably on less especially if you are prepared to compromise on some areas of spending or intend to continue working into your 70s.
What if your retirement balance is closer to $500,000? Using the ASIC Moneysmart Retirement Planner we have calculated how much income $500,000 in super might generate under a range of scenarios including:
- Whether you are single or in a couple.
- The age you plan to retire. We have selected 60, which is a common goal, then 65, 67, 70 and 75, to show the impact of delaying retirement.
- How long you want your money to last. We have run the numbers for age 85, 90, 95 and 100.
- How you invest your superannuation balance. An option with a higher allocation to growth assets will offer greater long-term growth prospects. This higher return on investment can help your superannuation savings last longer or provide a higher level of income, despite additional volatility.
The results assume you will withdraw the entire balance of your account-based pension by the target age.
Once the balance is exhausted, future income will come from the Age Pension alone.
When interpreting the results of any retirement calculator it is important to consider the assumptions that have been used. The Moneysmart Retirement planner builds in the same investment return and inflation rate for every year but reality is not so consistent. True variation over the years means the retirement income your balance will provide is likely to be significantly different in the real world.
We have used the default calculator settings, which assume you are a homeowner, have only $25,000 in assets outside super, and are eligible for the Age Pension. All figures are in today’s dollars (adjusted for inflation) and include the impact of estimated super fund fees.
We recommend you review the assumptions and further information about the calculator on ASIC’s website.
Where to go for more
We hope the figures in the tables below will get you thinking but remember that this data represents a small selection of possible outcomes and cannot substitute for a personalised calculation.
To build a picture of your own circumstances, use a good quality retirement projection tool such as the Mercer Retirement Income Simulator, QSuper’s Super Projection or Retirement Calculator or the Moneysmart Retirement Planner that we used here. Make sure you include as much information as possible about your circumstances, including investments outside super, and review and adjust the assumptions including fees to ensure your projection is as meaningful as possible.
A key part of any retirement plan, and essential to using the calculator tools mentioned above, is to consider how long your income will need to last. SuperGuide is grateful to Optimum Pensions for allowing us to share their lifetime estimator calculator with you – an easy-to-use tool that can help you answer this question.
To help you navigate these and other free retirement planning tools, SuperGuide has developed a range of video demonstrations. You can find these ‘How to’ guides in the Super and retirement calculators section.
Income generated from a $500,000 retirement super balance
The investment options included in the below tables are cash (4.3% annual return), conservative (5.6% annual return), moderate (6.3% annual return), balanced (6.7% annual return), and growth (7% annual return).
First let’s look at the estimated annual income under various scenarios for a couple with a combined balance of $500,000 on retirement, which they transfer into a super account-based pension.
To put these numbers in context, the December 2025 ASFA standard for a comfortable retirement is $77,375 per year for a homeowning couple, while Super Consumers Australia’s medium spending target is $64,000.
Couple: Retiring at 60
| Money lasting until age | Cash | Conservative | Moderate | Balanced | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | $61,837 | $63,719 | $64,824 | $65,515 | $66,036 |
| 90 | $61,831 | $63,581 | $64,635 | $65,242 | $65,774 |
| 95 | $61,725 | $63,567 | $64,608 | $65,238 | $65,741 |
| 100 | $61,599 | $63,491 | $64,567 | $65,186 | $65,701 |
Couple: Retiring at 65
| Money lasting until age | Cash | Conservative | Moderate | Balanced | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | $75,129 | $78,409 | $80,070 | $81,047 | $81,795 |
| 90 | $72,502 | $75,627 | $77,247 | $78,251 | $79,000 |
| 95 | $71,225 | $74,215 | $75,806 | $76,755 | $77,458 |
| 100 | $70,720 | $73,546 | $75,053 | $76,028 | $76,745 |
Couple: Retiring at 67
| Money lasting until age | Cash | Conservative | Moderate | Balanced | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | $82,102 | $86,348 | $88,319 | $89,446 | $90,318 |
| 90 | $77,579 | $81,646 | $83,603 | $84,749 | $85,651 |
| 95 | $75,212 | $79,130 | $81,078 | $82,223 | $83,099 |
| 100 | $74,012 | $77,759 | $79,698 | $80,821 | $81,640 |
Couple: Retiring at 70
| Money lasting until age | Cash | Conservative | Moderate | Balanced | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | $86,463 | $91,147 | $93,073 | $94,169 | $95,062 |
| 90 | $79,669 | $84,119 | $86,057 | $87,200 | $88,066 |
| 95 | $76,238 | $80,456 | $82,424 | $83,546 | $84,435 |
| 100 | $74,427 | $78,500 | $80,430 | $81,550 | $82,435 |
Couple: Retiring at 75
| Money lasting until age | Cash | Conservative | Moderate | Balanced | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | $102,977 | $106,505 | $108,434 | $109,528 | $110,419 |
| 90 | $87,647 | $91,126 | $93,056 | $94,181 | $95,057 |
| 95 | $80,708 | $84,102 | $86,036 | $87,193 | $88,075 |
| 100 | $77,109 | $80,454 | $82,362 | $83,546 | $84,433 |
The following scenarios are for a single person with a retirement super balance of $500,000 that they transfer into a super account-based pension.
To put these numbers in context, the December 2025 ASFA standard for a comfortable retirement is $54,840 per year for a single homeowner, while Super Consumers Australia’s medium spending target is $44,000.
Single: Retiring at 60
| Money lasting until age | Cash | Conservative | Moderate | Balanced | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | $49,339 | $51,880 | $53,368 | $54,233 | $54,909 |
| 90 | $48,360 | $50,739 | $52,158 | $52,954 | $53,706 |
| 95 | $47,914 | $50,139 | $51,558 | $52,392 | $53,056 |
| 100 | $47,765 | $49,916 | $51,275 | $52,082 | $52,730 |
Single: Retiring at 65
| Money lasting until age | Cash | Conservative | Moderate | Balanced | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | $59,096 | $62,010 | $63,693 | $64,629 | $65,381 |
| 90 | $55,599 | $58,430 | $60,058 | $61,002 | $61,718 |
| 95 | $53,604 | $56,377 | $57,961 | $58,897 | $59,631 |
| 100 | $52,515 | $55,142 | $56,739 | $57,681 | $58,352 |
Single: Retiring at 67
| Money lasting until age | Cash | Conservative | Moderate | Balanced | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | $62,897 | $65,908 | $67,496 | $68,447 | $69,203 |
| 90 | $57,984 | $60,928 | $62,515 | $63,483 | $64,228 |
| 95 | $55,211 | $58,123 | $59,664 | $60,632 | $61,362 |
| 100 | $53,693 | $56,481 | $58,028 | $58,993 | $59,713 |
Single: Retiring at 70
| Money lasting until age | Cash | Conservative | Moderate | Balanced | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | $67,772 | $70,733 | $72,422 | $73,367 | $74,085 |
| 90 | $60,532 | $63,488 | $65,160 | $66,104 | $66,856 |
| 95 | $56,683 | $59,584 | $61,192 | $62,178 | $62,898 |
| 100 | $54,525 | $57,330 | $58,934 | $59,851 | $60,578 |
Single: Retiring at 75
| Money lasting until age | Cash | Conservative | Moderate | Balanced | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | $83,283 | $86,289 | $87,968 | $88,913 | $89,704 |
| 90 | $67,742 | $70,728 | $72,369 | $73,371 | $74,110 |
| 95 | $60,553 | $63,471 | $65,134 | $66,123 | $66,843 |
| 100 | $56,693 | $59,562 | $61,215 | $62,128 | $62,858 |
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