If you live alone, you already know. The rent isn’t halved. The power bill isn’t halved. The Netflix subscription, the insurance, the weekly shop, the holiday accommodation. None of it gets split. You wear the full cost on one income.
That’s the cost of being single in Australia, and recent data confirms it’s bigger than most people realise. Single Australians have, on average, $19,260 less in savings than partnered Australians. They save about $435 less each month. They run out of emergency savings two weeks sooner if income stops. And when retirement rolls around, the gap doesn’t close. A single homeowner needs roughly $630,000 in super to retire comfortably. A couple needs around $730,000. The single is funding nearly the same lifestyle on less than 14% extra savings.
This article breaks down what being single actually costs day to day, what it means for retirement, and the financial moves that matter most for solo Australians, especially those in the lead-up to retirement.
What Is the “Singles Tax”?
The “singles tax” isn’t a real tax. It’s the financial premium you pay for running a household alone. Fixed costs like rent, electricity, council rates, internet and insurance don’t change much whether one person or two lives in the house. Couples split the bill. Singles don’t.
Finder’s 2026 Singles Tax Report puts the average one-person household at around $2,835 per month in living costs. A couple spends about $4,118 combined, or $2,059 each. That’s a $776 per person premium, every month, just for living alone.
The same report found singles save $651 a month on average, compared to $1,086 for partnered Australians. Over a year, that’s $5,220 in extra savings that couples build up. Over a working lifetime, with compounding, the gap balloons.
Where the Cost Hits Hardest
The singles tax isn’t spread evenly. Some categories sting more than others.
Housing. This is the big one. A one-bedroom rental in most capital city suburbs isn’t half the price of a two-bedroom. ABC research has pointed out that a one-bedroom in Bankstown averages around $510 a week, while a two-bedroom is $555. A couple splits the bigger place for around $278 each. A single pays the full $510. The cost per square metre of “yours” goes up the moment you live alone.
Groceries. Single Australians spend an average of $165 a week on food, compared to $237 for a couple. The single is paying more per person, often with more food waste, because recipes and supermarket packs are sized for two or four.
Utilities and insurance. Base service charges, daily supply fees, internet plans and car insurance premiums don’t shrink much for solo households. The connection fee is the same whether one person uses the electricity or two.
Holidays. Hotels, cruises, Airbnbs and rental cars are priced for shared use. Solo travel almost always costs more per person.
Home loan borrowing. Single buyers must save the same deposit on one income and prove they can service the loan alone. The Finder report noted that in 2025, only 31 per cent of suburbs across Australia were affordable to buy in without tipping a buyer into mortgage stress. For single buyers, the squeeze is sharper.
How This Plays Out at Retirement
For Wealthlab’s clients, the conversation usually gets serious at this point. The savings gap during your working life isn’t just a budgeting issue, it follows you into retirement.
ASFA’s Numbers for Singles vs Couples
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) publishes the Retirement Standard, which sets benchmarks for how much you need to retire. The February 2026 update lifted the lump sum targets for the first time in three years.
For a comfortable retirement at age 67 (owning your home outright, with a partial Age Pension):
| Household | Super needed at 67 | Annual spending |
|---|---|---|
| Single | $630,000 | $54,840 |
| Couple | $730,000 | $77,375 |
For a modest retirement (mostly covered by the Age Pension):
| Household | Super needed at 67 | Annual spending |
|---|---|---|
| Single | $110,000 | $35,503 |
| Couple | $120,000 | $50,866 |
Source: ASFA Retirement Standard, February 2026. Current as at May 2026.
Please note: All figures, projections and scenarios in this article are approximate and for illustrative purposes only. Individual outcomes will vary based on personal circumstances, investment returns, fees, and current government policy. This is general information, not personal advice.
Look at the comfortable figures. A single retiree needs $54,840 a year to live comfortably. A couple needs $77,375 combined. That’s not double, it’s about 1.4 times the single figure. The couple gets economies of scale in retirement just like they did during their working years.
But here’s the kicker. The single only needs about $100,000 less in super to fund that lifestyle. Per dollar of retirement income, singles need significantly more savings.
The Age Pension Gives Singles a Bit of Help
The Age Pension does try to account for this. From 20 March 2026, the maximum Age Pension rates set by Services Australia are:
- Single: $1,200.90 per fortnight (around $31,223 a year)
- Couple combined: $1,810.40 per fortnight (around $47,070 a year)
The single rate is about two-thirds of the combined couple rate, recognising that one person living alone doesn’t have half the costs of two people. It helps, but it doesn’t close the gap. These figures are set by the Australian Government and typically updated each March and September. Always check the current rate at Services Australia.
A Common Wealthlab Scenario
We generally see two main groups of single clients in their late 50s and 60s. The first is people who’ve been single for years and have built their wealth on one income from the start. The second, and increasingly common group, is people newly single after divorce or the death of a partner.
The second group often gets caught off guard. A couple’s retirement plan was built around a $730,000 combined target and two Age Pensions. After separation or bereavement, the same person is suddenly looking at a $630,000 single target, one Age Pension, and a single set of bills.
In most cases we see, the financial squeeze is real but the picture isn’t as grim as people fear in the first few weeks. The Age Pension assets and income tests are different for singles, the home is usually still exempt, and a properly structured account-based pension can stretch the available super further than expected.
What hurts most isn’t the maths. It’s the mental shift. The plan needs to be rebuilt for one person, not two. That’s usually where a clear conversation with an adviser helps, less to crunch numbers and more to redraw the picture.
Why Singles Often End Up With Less Super (And How to Fix It)
The savings gap during your working life shows up directly in your super balance at 60. A single saving $5,000 less a year than a couple from 30 to 60 misses out on roughly $400,000 of compounded super at a 6% return. That’s not a small number.
If you’re single and approaching 50, there are a few levers worth knowing about. None of these are personal recommendations. Whether any of them suit your situation depends on your income, balance, employment status and goals. But they are the strategies most often discussed for single Australians trying to close the super gap.
Catch-up concessional contributions. If your total super balance is under $500,000 at the start of the financial year, you can carry forward unused concessional contribution caps from the previous five financial years. This is one of the most powerful tools available for high-income singles trying to make up lost ground. The concessional cap is currently $30,000 per year.
Salary sacrifice. Reducing your taxable income by contributing more to super lifts your super balance while cutting your tax bill. For singles on a single income, this is often the most consistent way to build a buffer.
Downsizer contributions. If you’re 55 or older and sell a home you’ve owned for at least 10 years, you can put up to $300,000 of the sale proceeds into super, outside of the usual contribution caps. Scott and Phil walked through the rules and traps of this in detail on our podcast episode on Downsizer Contributions. The 90-day deadline catches people out, and as Phil put it, “on the face of it, it seems super simple. Sell a house, chuck $300 grand in super, away we go. But there’s actually a few traps.”
Reviewing your investment mix. This came up on our women in retirement episode. Single women in particular often have more conservative super than men, despite needing it to last longer. Scott put it bluntly: “If you’re a man sitting there wondering why do I care about this episode, you’re quite possibly living with a woman. And you should care.” Many single people, especially women, are sitting in default balanced or conservative options when their time horizon would support a higher growth allocation. Whether that suits your individual circumstances is worth a proper conversation. (See the full episode here if you want Scott and Phil’s full take.)
Want to see how your own numbers stack up? The Wealthlab super calculator gives you a quick snapshot in about two minutes.
What Singles Can Actually Do Day to Day
Beyond super, a few practical moves help take the edge off the singles tax in everyday life.
Audit your fixed costs. Singles get hit hardest on bills that don’t shrink. Reviewing electricity, internet, insurance and subscriptions every 12 months is a small effort with real savings. Energy plans in particular have moved a lot in the past two years.
Consider a housemate or rentvesting. Sharing a roof, even temporarily, can flip the maths on rent and utilities overnight. For people in their 50s and 60s this isn’t always appealing, but for those holding a larger home after kids have left, renting out a room (or downsizing and unlocking equity) is worth modelling.
Cook in batches. Recipes for one are rarely cheaper per serve than cooking for two and freezing. The food waste problem singles face is real but solvable.
Use the singles travel hack. Some cruises, tours and accommodation providers waive single supplements in shoulder seasons. Worth asking before booking.
Build the buffer first. Singles run out of savings about two weeks sooner than couples in an income shock. An emergency fund of three to six months of expenses matters more, not less, when you don’t have a partner to share the shock.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much more does it cost to be single in Australia?
Finder’s 2026 Singles Tax Report estimates single Australians save around $19,260 less than partnered Australians on average, and spend about $776 more per person per month on household costs. The biggest pressure points are rent, groceries and utilities, which don’t scale down for a household of one.
How much super does a single person need to retire in Australia?
According to ASFA’s February 2026 Retirement Standard, a single homeowner needs around $630,000 in super at age 67 to fund a comfortable retirement, with annual spending of about $54,840. For a modest retirement, the figure drops to around $110,000 in super, with most of the income covered by the Age Pension. These figures assume you own your home outright.
What is the Age Pension for a single person in 2026?
From 20 March 2026, the maximum Age Pension for a single person is $1,200.90 per fortnight, or roughly $31,223 a year, including the pension supplement and energy supplement. Couples receive $1,810.40 combined per fortnight. Rates are reviewed and indexed each March and September. Current as at May 2026.
Is it harder to retire single in Australia?
In some ways, yes. Singles face the same large fixed costs in retirement (council rates, insurance, electricity, internet) without a partner to share them. Singles also receive a smaller combined Age Pension than couples. But the system isn’t designed against singles, and many retire comfortably with the right planning. The bigger risk is leaving the planning until the last few years.
Is being single more expensive than being a couple in retirement?
Per person, yes. Couples share fixed household costs, which gives them an economy of scale in retirement just like in working life. ASFA’s data shows a single needs around 70% of a couple’s combined retirement spending to live the same lifestyle, but only saves around 14% less by retirement age. The gap is real, and it’s why singles often need to be more deliberate with their super, contributions and budgeting.
Should I be doing anything differently if I’m single and approaching retirement?
It depends on your individual circumstances, but a few areas commonly worth reviewing include: your concessional contribution strategy and whether catch-up contributions apply, your super investment mix relative to your time horizon, your projected Age Pension entitlement, and your home and household cost structure. Many singles find a conversation with a financial adviser useful for stress-testing these against current rules.
A Final Thought
Being single in Australia is more expensive than most policy and product design admits. The system assumes two of everything, and singles pay the gap. But the gap is manageable with planning, and the earlier you understand the maths, the easier it is to set things up.
If you’re single and starting to think seriously about retirement, the most useful thing you can do is map out where you actually stand. That means knowing your current super balance, your projected Age Pension, your expected expenses, and the gap between them.
Want to talk through what your situation looks like? Book a free chat with the Wealthlab team and get a clear picture, no jargon and no pressure. Or take the free Wealthlab retirement quiz for a quick snapshot.
