In this guide
Inflation hits retiree budgets …
Annual budgets for a comfortable lifestyle in retirement rose by 3.5% for a couple and 3.6% for a single over the year, according to the latest Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) Retirement Standard for September.
A homeowning couple aged 65 to 84 now needs an annual budget of $76,505 for a comfortable lifestyle in retirement, while a single person needs $54,240.
“Retirees might be feeling the squeeze this Christmas because prices have risen fastest in the things they spend most on, like food, energy and health. Some older people may cut back on pricier gifts, travel and social occasions to stay on top of the basics,” ASFA chief executive officer Mary Delahunty said.
Over the quarter, electricity prices rose by 9%, property rates were up by 6.3% and audio, visual, media and services rose by 9.3%. Domestic holiday travel and accommodation rose by 5.2% and the cost of eating out and takeaway was up by 1.3%.
The ASFA standard found that for a modest lifestyle, a single homeowner would need a budget of $35,199 per year and a homeowner couple would need a budget of $50,866. For people renting, a single person would need $49,676 per year to fund a modest lifestyle, while a couple would need $67,125.
… but opinions differ on how much is enough to retire comfortably
Super Consumers Australia (SCA) has estimated that a single homeowner will need around $322,000 in super for a comfortable retirement by the time they reach 65, with couples needing a combined $432,000.
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“You might already be on track for a comfortable retirement and not realise,” SCA deputy chief executive officer Katrina Ellis said.
“For many people, this is good news – by knowing your Retirement Super Target you can balance your quality of life now with your quality of life in retirement,” she said.
The data is based on single homeowning retirees spending $1,690 per fortnight ($43,930 per year) in retirement, significantly lower than ASFA’s estimate of $54,240 per year. The SCA also calculates the balance required for a retiree who wants to spend $2,350 per fortnight ($61,100 per year), that is, a total super balance on retirement at 65 of $891,000. This is substantially higher than ASFA’s comfortable standard.
Both figures assume the Age Pension will also contribute to retirement income, with it funding 67% of the medium spending level and 29% of the high spending level.
ACTU says regulators failed to protect workers’ savings
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has called out the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for not doing enough to prevent the First Guardian and Shield collapses. These failures are estimated to have cost approximately 12,000 Australians combined superannuation losses of more than $1 billion.
“APRA’s abrogation of its responsibility to regulate for-profit platform trustees has robbed workers of tens of thousands of dollars of their life savings and could now end up costing them even more. Working people should not have to pay for APRA and ASIC’s failures,” ACTU assistant secretary Joseph Mitchell said.
The ACTU pointed out that APRA ran an operational surplus in the last financial year, suggesting it had sufficient resources to monitor the threat of platform failures and take timely actions to safeguard Australians’ retirement savings.
“First Guardian and Shield’s collapses suggest that the regulator has been focusing on culture wars rather than monitoring and preventing the growing systemic risk to workers posed by unregulated self-managed super funds and for-profit platforms,” Mitchell said.
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Final warning for financial advisers
ASIC has warned financial advisers that they must meet the relevant education and training requirements if they intend to continue providing personal advice to retail clients from 1 January 2026.
ASIC’s latest review of the sector found that of the 15,469 relevant providers on the Financial Advisers Register, 7,959 hold an approved degree or qualification, 4,212 are relying on the experienced provider pathway and 972 are recorded as holding both an approved degree or qualification and relying on the experienced provider pathway.
That leaves 2,326 financial advisers who are yet to meet the qualifications standard. Of that number, ASIC says 836 may be eligible for the experienced provider pathway, but they have not yet notified ASIC of their intentions.
The experienced provider pathway is open to financial advisers who have been a relevant provider for at least 10 years and have a clean disciplinary record. Although it exempts advisers who meet these conditions from a tertiary qualification, they must still have passed the financial adviser exam.
APRA imposes conditions on Australian Ethical Super
APRA has imposed additional licence conditions on Australian Ethical Superannuation (AES) following a review of its related-party expenditure practices.
APRA identified deficiencies around AES’s related-party expenditure, particularly in relation to investment management agreements with its parent company, Australian Ethical Investments. AES will be required to appoint an independent third party to review outsourcing decisions and enhance compliance.
“APRA expects trustees to have robust policies and procedures in place to uphold strong governance practices, appropriately manage conflicts and prioritise the financial interests of their members,” APRA deputy chair Margaret Cole said.
“Implementation of the additional licence conditions will support improved outcomes for AES’s members and ensure that there is an appropriate level of independence, rigour and transparency regarding expenditure decisions.”
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Super funds still lagging on retirement outcomes
The latest Retirement Income Covenant (RIC) Pulse Check from APRA and ASIC has found that the gap between those trustees actively promoting better retirement outcomes for their members and those that have not is widening.
ASIC commissioner Simone Constant said that Australians in retirement and those entering it over the next decade deserve better from their superannuation fund trustees.
“Super trustees have had three years to develop meaningful retirement income strategies that meet the diverse needs of their members – and meet the law,” she said.
The Pulse Check is voluntary, but the regulators said that of the 44 RSE licences that were invited to participate, 39 did so, representing approximately 95% of retirement phase assets in super.
Nearly all RSE licences surveyed indicated they have taken steps to strengthen their understanding of member needs, with 97% reporting improvements since the 2024 pulse check.
“However, only 15% rated their understanding of members higher than ‘good’. This indicates that most RSE licensees believe that more can be done to better understand their members,” the report found.
Both regulators said all trustees should take steps to meet better practices in four different categories as outlined in the report.
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