Planning to retire soon? The 10 things you do before you retire can make all the difference between a confident, stress-free transition and one filled with financial anxiety and regret.
Retirement is not just about stopping work. It is about starting the life you have imagined. To get there comfortably, you need a plan that covers your finances, your super structure, your lifestyle, and your peace of mind. Most Australians focus almost entirely on the financial side and give very little thought to the rest. The ones who retire happily and confidently are the ones who got both right.
Here is the complete 2026 checklist of things to do before you retire in Australia, with the specific actions, current figures, and practical guidance you need.
1. Know Your Retirement Number
The first step in preparing for retirement is calculating exactly how much you actually need. Vague estimates are not enough. You need a specific, realistic figure based on your actual lifestyle.
Start with your annual spending. The ASFA Retirement Standard (February 2026) sets two key benchmarks for a single homeowner:
| Lifestyle | Annual income needed |
|---|---|
| Modest | $36,700 |
| Comfortable | $54,837 |
For couples, the figures are $52,800 per year for a modest lifestyle and $77,375 per year for a comfortable lifestyle. Both assume home ownership and partial Age Pension support from age 67.
ASFA’s recommended lump sum at retirement (age 67) is $630,000 for a single homeowner and $730,000 for a couple for a comfortable retirement.
Once you have your annual spending target, use the Wealthlab super calculator to see how your current balance and projected contributions track against that figure. This is the most important number in your retirement plan. Get it right before you do anything else.
2. Review Your Superannuation
One of the most critical things to do before you retire is to check your superannuation balance, investment option, and fee structure and make sure all three are working in your favour.
Check your balance against the ASFA benchmarks above. If you are behind, you still have options including salary sacrifice, catch-up concessional contributions, and spouse contributions that can close the gap before retirement. The concessional contribution cap for 2025-26 is $30,000 per year and the non-concessional cap is $120,000 per year.
Check your investment option. Many Australians in their late 50s are in a balanced or conservative option by default, even though a growth option over the five to ten years before retirement typically delivers significantly better returns. As Scott covered in Episode 1 of the Wealthlab Podcast, playing it safe too early can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in long-term returns.
Consolidate any multiple super accounts. Multiple accounts mean multiple sets of fees and insurance premiums. Merging them into one fund reduces cost and simplifies management. Use the ATO’s online services through MyGov to find any lost or inactive accounts.
Check your insurance inside super. Many super funds hold life insurance, total and permanent disability, and income protection insurance. Review whether the coverage and premiums still make sense at your current life stage before retiring.
4. Create a Realistic Retirement Budget
Your spending patterns will change once you retire. Some costs go down (work clothes, commuting, lunch out every day). Others go up (healthcare, leisure, travel). Most people underestimate how much the second category costs.
Create a detailed budget with two layers. The first is your essential expenses: housing costs (rates, insurance, maintenance for homeowners; rent for renters), groceries, utilities, transport, healthcare, and insurance. The second is your lifestyle expenses: travel, dining out, hobbies, gifts, and entertainment.
A useful benchmark for homeowners: a modest retirement budget is around $3,058 per month and a comfortable one is around $4,570 per month for a single person, based on current ASFA figures. For couples, modest is around $4,400 per month and comfortable is around $6,448 per month.
Build a healthcare cost line into your budget separately and be realistic about it. According to the AIHW, per capita health spending roughly doubles between the early 60s and the mid-80s. What feels like a manageable health cost at 62 is often significantly higher at 75 and 80.
5. Understand Government Benefits You Are Entitled To
Knowing what government benefits you may be entitled to is one of the most overlooked things to do before you retire. Many Australians leave thousands of dollars per year on the table by not claiming entitlements they qualify for.
The Age Pension is the most significant. From 20 March 2026, the full Age Pension pays $1,200.90 per fortnight ($31,223 per year) for singles and $1,810.40 per fortnight ($47,070 per year) for couples combined. Eligibility starts at age 67 and depends on the assets test and income test. Source: Services Australia.
Assets test thresholds for homeowners (March 2026): the full pension is available to singles with assets below $314,000 and couples below $470,000. The pension cuts out for singles above $695,500 and couples above $1,075,500.
The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card provides discounts on prescription medications under the PBS, bulk-billed GP visits, and concessions on utilities, transport, and council rates across most states. It is available to Australians of Age Pension age who do not receive the Age Pension but have modest income.
Rent Assistance, energy supplements, and other Centrelink payments may also apply depending on your circumstances. The Services Australia Financial Information Service provides free, independent information on all entitlements and is available to anyone, not just current Centrelink recipients.
Phil and Dan covered real-world Age Pension case studies in Episode 10 of the Wealthlab Podcast: How the Age Pension Really Works, including how common planning mistakes can cost tens of thousands in pension entitlements.
6. Eliminate High-Interest Debt
Aim to enter retirement debt-free or with a clear plan to become debt-free quickly. Carrying high-interest debt into retirement is one of the most common and most damaging retirement mistakes.
Focus first on clearing credit cards, personal loans, and car loans. These typically carry interest rates of 12 to 22% per year, far above any investment return you can reliably achieve. Every dollar of this debt cleared before retirement is a guaranteed return.
The mortgage question is more nuanced. If you have a mortgage at 6% and super earning 7%, the strict mathematical answer is to keep the mortgage and keep the super. But retirement is not just a spreadsheet. As Phil and Scott discussed in Episode 5 of the Wealthlab Podcast: Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage With Super at 60?, the emotional relief of being debt-free in retirement has genuine value that the numbers alone do not capture. For most people, entering retirement with no mortgage is the right goal even if the maths says otherwise.
7. Review Your Insurance Policies
Insurance needs change significantly as you approach and enter retirement. Reviewing your coverage before you stop working is one of the practical things to consider before retiring that many people leave until too late.
Life insurance becomes less critical once your mortgage is paid, your children are financially independent, and your partner has sufficient assets to support themselves. Many people carry expensive life insurance into their 60s out of habit rather than need.
Income protection insurance ceases to be relevant once you stop earning an income. Review whether you are still paying premiums on coverage you no longer need.
Health insurance becomes more important in retirement as healthcare costs grow. Review your level of cover, particularly dental, optical, and physiotherapy, which Medicare does not cover. Compare premiums carefully. A couple over 65 can expect to pay $4,000 to $8,000 per year in private health insurance premiums, and this increases further in your 70s and 80s.
8. Plan for Healthcare Costs in Retirement
Healthcare is one of the most consistently underestimated retirement expenses. While Medicare covers a significant portion of medical costs, out-of-pocket expenses for dental, optical, hearing, specialist visits, physiotherapy, and allied health services add up significantly over a 20 to 30-year retirement.
The ASFA comfortable retirement standard allocates approximately $7,000 to $9,000 per year for healthcare costs for a single retiree. In practice, many retirees in their 70s and 80s spend significantly more.
Specific items to plan for: a single dental implant can cost $3,000 to $6,000, and most Australians will need significant dental work across retirement. Hearing aids can cost $3,000 to $8,000 per set and typically need replacement every five to seven years. Optical costs for glasses or contact lenses average $300 to $800 per year. Physiotherapy and allied health for managing chronic conditions are a regular ongoing cost for most Australians over 70.
Build a dedicated healthcare reserve as part of your retirement financial plan. Treating it as a separate line item rather than hoping it is covered by general living costs is one of the most effective retirement planning tips for managing healthcare risk.
9. Organise Your Legal Documents
Sorting your legal affairs before you retire is one of the most important and most commonly neglected things to do before you retire. A single missing or outdated document can create significant family stress and financial cost at the worst possible time.
The four documents every Australian retiree needs:
A current Will that accurately reflects your wishes for asset distribution, including your superannuation (noting that super does not automatically form part of your estate and requires a binding death benefit nomination to direct it where you intend).
An Enduring Power of Attorney appointing someone to manage your financial affairs if you lose capacity. This is different from a general Power of Attorney and remains valid if you become incapacitated.
A Medical Power of Attorney (or Enduring Guardianship, depending on your state) appointing someone to make healthcare decisions on your behalf if you cannot.
An Advance Care Directive documenting your wishes for medical treatment in specific circumstances, particularly end-of-life care.
Review all of these documents and make sure they reflect your current wishes, your current family situation, and your current assets. Store them in a secure and accessible location and make sure the right people know where they are.
For super-specific estate planning including binding death benefit nominations, blended family considerations, and the tax treatment of death benefits for adult children versus spouses, see our guide and Episode 12 of the Wealthlab Podcast: Super vs Inheritance, How Death and Gifting Impact Your Pension.
10. Visualise Your Retirement Lifestyle
The final and often most overlooked item on the pre-retirement checklist is thinking seriously about what your retirement will actually look like day to day. Not the holiday version. The Tuesday at 10am version.
Research consistently shows that the retirees who struggle most in the first year are not the ones with low super balances. They are the ones who did not plan what they would do with their time. Loss of identity, loss of social connection, and loss of structure are the non-financial challenges that catch many Australians off guard.
Think concretely about: how you will spend a typical week. What gives you purpose beyond earning an income. How you will maintain and build social connections after leaving the workplace. Whether you want to volunteer, travel, work part-time, pursue creative interests, or contribute to community in some way. What your relationship with your partner will look like when you are together all day, every day.
As Scott explored in Episode 8 of the Wealthlab Podcast: The Psychology of Money, your biggest financial risk in retirement is often not the stock market or interest rates. It is your own psychology and whether your mindset is set up to enjoy what you have spent your career building.
Preparing for Retirement: The Early Retirement Checklist
For Australians considering retiring early, before age 60, a few additional considerations apply.
You cannot access super before preservation age (60 for most Australians born after 1 July 1964). Retiring before 60 means funding your entire lifestyle from non-super assets until you reach 60. This requires significant investment outside super.
The Age Pension at 67 is even further away, meaning a longer fully self-funded period. Retiring at 55 means 12 years before Age Pension eligibility, funded entirely from your own resources.
Early retirement also means forgoing years of employer super contributions (currently 12% of salary from 1 July 2025) and any personal contributions that would otherwise compound inside the tax-advantaged super environment.
Retiring early considerations should include: how you will fund the pre-60 period from non-super assets, whether your super balance is sufficient to carry you from 60 to 67 and beyond, and whether the non-financial readiness is genuine, not just a reaction to work stress. For more on early retirement planning, see our guide on how much passive income you need to retire early in Australia.
10 Tips to Prepare for a Successful Retirement: The Summary
Here is a quick-reference version of the complete checklist:
- Calculate your retirement number using the ASFA standard and your actual lifestyle costs
- Review your super balance, investment option, fees, and consolidate any multiple accounts
- Get a comprehensive financial health check from a qualified financial adviser
- Build a detailed two-layer retirement budget covering essentials and lifestyle
- Research your government benefit entitlements including Age Pension, Seniors Health Card, and relevant concessions
- Eliminate all high-interest debt and work toward a mortgage-free retirement
- Review your insurance coverage and update it for your retirement stage
- Build a specific healthcare cost reserve into your retirement financial plan
- Organise your Will, Powers of Attorney, and Advance Care Directive
- Plan your retirement lifestyle concretely including purpose, structure, and social connection
The best retirement is one that is planned well in advance of the date you stop working. The financial preparation gives you the resources. The lifestyle preparation gives you the reason to enjoy them.
FAQs: Things to Do Before You Retire in Australia
What are the most important things to do before you retire?
The most important actions are: calculate your actual retirement number using current ASFA benchmarks, review and consolidate your super, get a financial health check from a qualified adviser, build a realistic budget, understand your Age Pension and government benefit entitlements, eliminate high-interest debt, sort your legal documents (Will and Powers of Attorney), and plan what your retirement lifestyle will actually look like day to day.
How do I prepare for retirement in Australia?
Preparing for retirement in Australia means addressing both the financial and the lifestyle dimensions. Financially: know your retirement income needs, maximise super contributions in the years before retirement, understand Age Pension eligibility, review your investment option, and get professional advice. Personally: plan how you will spend your time, maintain social connections, and find purpose outside of work. Both dimensions matter equally to a successful retirement.
How to retire stress free?
The most effective way to retire stress free is to prepare thoroughly in the five years before you stop working rather than the five weeks. Stress in retirement almost always comes from financial uncertainty (not knowing whether the money will last), loss of identity and purpose, or unexpected healthcare costs. All three are preventable with the right planning. A clear retirement income plan, a specific lifestyle vision, and realistic healthcare cost projections are the three foundations of a stress-free retirement.
What should I do in the year before I retire?
In the 12 months before retirement: get a comprehensive financial review, confirm your super is in the right structure (account-based pension ready to activate), sort your legal documents, review and adjust your insurance, model your Age Pension eligibility at 67, build your cash buffer (12 to 18 months of living expenses), reduce work hours gradually if possible to test and adjust your retirement lifestyle, and apply for the Age Pension up to 13 weeks before your 67th birthday.
What do you need to know before you retire?
The key things to know before you retire: your preservation age (60 for most Australians), your super balance and whether it aligns with ASFA benchmarks, what the Age Pension will pay you at 67 and whether you will qualify, what your actual annual spending will be in retirement, the difference between an account-based pension and leaving super in accumulation phase (and why the switch matters), and how healthcare costs typically escalate across a 20 to 30-year retirement.
What are retiring early considerations in Australia?
Retiring early in Australia means planning for both the pre-60 period (when super is inaccessible and must be funded from non-super assets) and the 60 to 67 period (when super is accessible but the Age Pension is not yet available). The earlier you retire, the more non-super assets you need for the bridge period, the longer your super needs to last, and the more important your investment returns and spending discipline become.
At Wealthlab, we help Australians build retirement roadmaps that cover every item on this checklist: setting realistic retirement goals, optimising superannuation and investments, reducing tax, structuring sustainable income, and planning for the full 20 to 30-year picture. Book your free consultation today and start preparing with confidenc