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Home / Plan your retirement / Retirement planning for beginners / Retirement planning case study: Couple aged 47 and 48

Retirement planning case study: Couple aged 47 and 48

January 22, 2021 by Barbara Drury Leave a Comment

Reading time: 3 minutes

On this page

  • Initial estimated annual retirement income until age 85
  • Super Contributions Optimiser summary
  • Revised estimated annual retirement income until age 85 (after making additional contributions)
  • Revised estimated annual retirement income until age 85 (after making additional contributions and delaying retirement until age 65)
  • Chris (47) earns $180,000 per year and has $430,000 in super
  • Lisa (48) earns $80,000 per year and has $220,000 in super
  • They have one daughter at university and are close to paying off their mortgage
  • They want to know if they are on track to retire when Chris turns 60

Chris and Lisa currently enjoy a more than comfortable standard of living, with combined after-tax income of $190,172 per year. They hope to continue their current lifestyle in retirement. As they will no longer have mortgage or super payments once they retire, they are aiming for two thirds (66%) of their current after-tax income, or around $125,500.

Up until now they have focused on paying down their mortgage. But now that they are getting closer to retirement and their daughter will soon be independent, they are considering paying more attention to their super.

According to MoneySmart’s Retirement Planner calculator, if they keep on as they are now, making no changes to their strategy or adding to their investments, they are on track for Chris to retire at 60 and Lisa at 61 with a combined super balance of $1,243,930 ($835,931 + $407,999).

This is estimated to produce an annual combined retirement income of $67,372 until Chris is age 90, or $75,459 until he is age 85.


You can view a video on how to use MoneySmart’s calculator here.

Please also refer to the note about assumptions for the MoneySmart Retirement Planner at the bottom of this article and note that the results you get may vary slightly from the figures below due to the way the tool factors in dates.


Initial estimated annual retirement income until age 85

Source: MoneySmart Retirement Planner

This is not what they hoped for.


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Given they will soon have more disposable income when the mortgage is paid off and their daughter is independent, they decide to improve their retirement outlook by salary sacrificing or making personal super contributions up to their concessional cap of $25,000.

Chris’ employer currently contributes Superannuation Guarantee payments of $17,100 per year while Lisa’s employer contributes $7,600. That means Chris could contribute an additional $7,900 per year and Lisa could contribute $17,400, earning them both a handy tax deduction in the process.

They use MoneySmart’s Super Contributions calculator to estimate this will reduce their net pay to $162,446 per year ($25,300 per year less), but decide that this is a sacrifice they can afford to make, particularly since it will add an additional $30,650 in contributions to their super each year.

Super Contributions Optimiser summary

Source: MoneySmart Super Contributions Optimiser

This strategy would take their estimated combined super balance to $1,538,436 and provide income of $75,281 per year until Chris is age 90, or $85,331 per year until he is 85.

Revised estimated annual retirement income until age 85 (after making additional contributions)

Source: MoneySmart Retirement Planner

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While this is enough to provide a comfortable retirement by community standards, it’s still well short of Chris and Lisa’s target income of $125,500. Luckily they are still relatively young so there is time to improve their retirement outlook either by saving more or retiring later.

If they delay retirement until Chris turns 65, their super balance will increase to an estimated $1,943,189 providing income of $100,613 per year until Chris is age 90, or $119,807 to age 85. This is closer to their goal and perhaps a more realistic plan.

Revised estimated annual retirement income until age 85 (after making additional contributions and delaying retirement until age 65)

Source: MoneySmart Retirement Planner

At some point they may also consider downsizing their large family home and putting the proceeds into their super.

Both Chris and Lisa expect to receive an inheritance from their parents at some point, but there is no way of knowing when that will be so it can’t be relied on to provide retirement income when they need it. They do, however, agree to make the most of any future wage increases or windfalls they may receive to add to their retirement savings.


View all our retirement planning case studies:

  • In retirement case study: Boosting retirement income with downsizer contributions
  • Retirement planning case study: Couple aged 47 and 48
  • Retirement planning case study: Couple aged 58 and 60
  • Retirement planning case study: Single woman, aged 52

Learn more about how to plan your own retirement.


Note: The MoneySmart Retirement Planner calculator used for these projections makes certain assumptions based on Treasury’s long-term retirement income models. For example, it assumes Balanced annual investment returns of 7.5% before tax and fees until retirement and a more conservative 6.5% after retirement. It also makes assumptions about fees, wages and inflation. You can change these assumptions if they don’t align with your risk profile or your super fund’s fees and long-term returns.


Important: These retirement planning case studies are presented as general information only, and are solely intended to give you ideas on aspects you may need to consider when planning your own retirement. They do not take into account all aspects of someone’s financial or personal situation, and should not be construed as general or personal advice.


Learn more about how much super is enough in the following SuperGuide articles:

How to use the MoneySmart Retirement Planner

January 21, 2021

Super to income Reckoner

February 18, 2020

Income from super Reckoner

February 18, 2020

Is $500,000 in super enough to retire on?

February 11, 2020

Is $750,000 in super enough to retire on?

February 11, 2020

Is $1 million in super enough to retire on?

February 11, 2020

Is $1.6 million in super enough to retire on?

February 11, 2020

Is $2 million in super enough to retire on?

February 11, 2020

Is $3.2 million in super enough for a couple to retire on?

February 11, 2020

How much super do I need to retire on $40,000 a year?

February 11, 2020

How much super do I need to retire on $60,000 a year?

February 11, 2020

How much super do I need to retire on $80,000 a year?

February 11, 2020

How much super do I need to retire on $100,000 a year?

February 11, 2020

How much super do I need to retire?

February 11, 2020

How accurate are ‘retirement estimates’? 7 assumptions you need to understand

November 21, 2019

Falling behind with your super? How your super balance compares

October 2, 2019

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All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it.

If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions.

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