How much super do I need?

According to the ASFA Retirement Standard, a couple can live a ‘comfortable lifestyle’ with a retirement balance of $640,000 while singles can enjoy the same with $545,000. But these are guidelines only.

Using MoneySmart’s Retirement Planner we have calculated how much income $400,000 in super will generate under a range of scenarios.

Using MoneySmart’s Retirement Planner we have calculated how much income $300,000 in super will generate under a range of scenarios.

What if your retirement balance is close to $200,000? This may sound like a world away from the figures required for a comfortable lifestyle, but it is considerably more than the savings required for ASFA’s ‘modest lifestyle’, which is $70,000 for both a couple and a single person.

What if your retirement balance is close to $100,000? This may sound like a world away from the figures required for a comfortable lifestyle, but it is still more than the savings required for ASFA’s ‘modest lifestyle’, which is $70,000 for both a couple and a single person.

A million dollars is often talked about as the gold standard of retirement savings, but it is a suspiciously round number. Depending on your personal circumstances, you might live well on much less, say $750,000, especially if you are not a big traveller or you intend to continue working well into your 70s.

How much will $3.2m in super generate in retirement income for a couple across 25, 30 or 25 years?

Since 1 July 2017 there has been a $1.6 million limit on the amount you can transfer into a super account in pension phase. The question is, is this an arbitrary figure dreamed up by bureaucrats or is it enough for a dream retirement?

A million dollars is often bandied about as the gold standard of retirement savings. It certainly sounds like a lot of money, but is it enough to retire on not just comfortably but in style?

A million dollars is often cited as the gold standard of retirement savings. It certainly sounds like a lot of money, but it may not provide the income you require if you are a couple or if one of you has high healthcare needs.

The widely-reported ASFA Retirement standard suggests couples can enjoy a ‘comfortable lifestyle’ on just over $60,000 a year while singles can do the same on around $43,000. If that sounds less than comfortable to you, perhaps an income of $100,000 a year is closer to the mark.

So, you’ve done some preliminary sums and think you will need around $80,000 a year to live well in retirement. The ASFA Retirement standard suggests couples can enjoy a ‘comfortable lifestyle’ on around $60,000 a year and singles on about $43,000 a year. By this yardstick, $80,000 a year should support a more than comfortable retirement.

If $60,000 a year sounds like your kind of retirement, the next step is to work out how much super you will need to fund it.