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Costs for retirees continue to rise
The cost of a comfortable retirement for a couple aged around 65 is now $75,319 per year, an increase of 1.95% over the quarter, according to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia’s (ASFA) latest retirement standard.
The annual cost for a single’s comfortable retirement is up by 1.72% to $53,289, while the cost for a modest retirement increased by 3.75% to $49,992 for a couple, and 3.4% to $34,522 for a single.
ASFA updated the standard in the June quarter to include budgeting for smartphones and NBN plans, which now cost couples $58 per week at the comfortable level and $45 at the modest level.
“The stereotype of the digitally challenged senior is outdated. Today’s retirees are as connected as anyone, and this is reflected in their household budgets,” ASFA chief executive officer Mary Delahunty said.
Also in the June quarter, retirees saw above-inflation price pressures on private health insurance, electricity and fresh food.
Private health insurance rose 3.7%, the biggest quarterly increase since 2018. Electricity prices climbed 8.1%, after a prior 16.3% surge, and fruit and vegetables went up 4.3%. Fuel prices fell 3.4% thanks to lower global oil costs.
Over the June quarter the Consumer Price Index only rose by 0.7% to be 2.1% annually.
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