How much you really need to comfortably retire exposed

New data has revealed the exact number you need in your superannuation for a comfortable retirement, and it’s lower than you think!

Super Consumers Australia (SCA) have released the official numbers, even incorporating the current state of inflation and based the data on research on retiree spending habits from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Our Retirement Savings Targets are an independent tool to help people start to work out how much they need to save for retirement.

Interested in how much you’ll need to retire? Or more on how we arrived at the numbers?

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— Super Consumers Australia (@ConsumersSuper) July 19, 2022

The figures, for middle-income earners who don’t have a mortgage or pay rent, stand at $302,000 for singles and $402,000 for couples.

The SCA’s data is shows spending limits in retirement with the median sitting at $1,692 a fortnight for $44,000 a year for singles, and $2,462 a fortnight for $64,000 a year for couples.

SCA Director Xavier O’Halloran said this new data answers one of “the most important financial questions” for retirement planning.

“Among the most important financial questions retirement-planning Australians face is how much they need to save and what income those savings will deliver in retirement,” O’Halloran said.

“These new retirement targets are designed to help people answer these questions. They provide a solid ‘rule of thumb’ for what is needed to maintain your living standards when you’re retired.

“These savings targets are based on what people spend in retirement with a buffer built in to provide confidence that people’s savings can weather the type of market volatility we’re currently experiencing.

“Having credible targets, based on actual spending, means people can confidently spend and get on with enjoying their retirement.”

The latest figures by the SCA are significantly less than what we’ve previously been told by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) with numbers provided by the super fund lobby.

The ASFA Retirement Standard figures for a comfortable retirement are: $545,000 for a single and $640,000 for a couple.

ASFA update their Retirement Standards quarterly to factor in inflation and the cost of living, with the latest review in March 2022 showing an increase of “1.0 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively on the previous quarter”.

Is your nest egg underdone? Here’s how much super you should have for your age if you want a comfortable retirement. @asfa @OtivoFinancial @theTiser #superannuation #investinghttps://t.co/CJeYqExz69

— Anthony Keane (@keanemoney) April 4, 2022

The recommended annual cost from ASFA is a yearly minimum of $46,494 for singles and $65,445 for couples.

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your financial or legal situation, objectives or needs. That means it’s not financial product or legal advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a financial or legal decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get independent, licensed financial services or legal advice.