How Much Does the Average Retired Person Spend a Month in Australia? (2026 Guide)

There are two honest answers to this question, and they don’t match.

The benchmark most articles quote is the ASFA Retirement Standard, which models what a couple or single person needs to spend for a “comfortable” or “modest” lifestyle. For homeowners aged 65 to 84, ASFA’s latest figures put comfortable spending at roughly $6,375 a month for a couple and $4,520 a month for a single. Modest sits at around $4,239 and $2,933 respectively.

The number based on what retirees actually spend is lower. Australian Bureau of Statistics household expenditure data suggests the typical household aged 65 and over spends closer to $3,900 to $4,300 a month for couples and $2,330 to $2,920 a month for singles, including both homeowners and renters. The gap between what ASFA models and what people actually spend isn’t a rounding error. It’s most of the story.

This guide breaks down where the money goes, how spending changes through the decades of retirement, and why most retirees end up spending less than the headline benchmarks suggest.

The two numbers and why they differ

ASFA’s standard answers a different question to the one most people actually have. ASFA asks: what does a comfortable lifestyle cost? The ABS data answers: what are Australian retirees actually spending each month?

Both are useful. ASFA is built around a defined basket of goods, services and lifestyle activities, and it assumes you have the income to afford that basket. The ABS data captures real households, including those whose super ran out at 72, those on the full Age Pension, and those who simply choose to spend less than they could.

For planning purposes, the right number for you sits somewhere between the two, depending on your balance, your home situation, and how you want to live.

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.

What ASFA says you need each month

These are the most recent quarterly benchmarks for retirees aged 65 to 84 who own their home outright.

Source: ASFA Retirement Standard, December 2025 quarter. Figures are reviewed each quarter; the lump sum benchmarks behind them were last revised in February 2026.

ASFA’s lump sum estimates to fund these incomes are around $630,000 for a single and $730,000 for a couple, both assuming a partial Age Pension.

For more on what each lifestyle covers and how the benchmark is constructed, see our deeper guide on what’s a good monthly retirement income in Australia.

What retirees actually spend each month (ABS data)

When the ABS Household Expenditure Survey data is filtered to households where the reference person is 65 or older, the average annual spend lands at roughly $47,000 to $52,000 for couples and $28,000 to $35,000 for singles. That translates to around $3,900 to $4,300 a month for couples and $2,330 to $2,920 a month for singles.

A few things this data captures that ASFA doesn’t:

• Retirees on the full Age Pension only, with no super left to draw on
• Renters, who form roughly one in five retiree households
• Households that have made conscious lifestyle trade-offs rather than maximised consumption

The Super Consumers Australia retirement targets, which are also built on ABS spending data, paint a similar picture. Their “low” target lands at $32,000 a year for a single, “medium” at $44,000, and “high” at $61,000. The medium is roughly what most homeowner singles aged 65 to 74 actually spend.

Where the money goes (monthly category breakdown)

This is an indicative breakdown of where the average retiree’s monthly spending lands across the main categories. The ranges reflect the variation between modest and comfortable lifestyles.

The two categories that vary most across households are leisure and recreation (a $550 swing between modest and comfortable for singles) and food (heavily influenced by how often a household eats out). These are also the two categories retirees can most easily adjust if circumstances change.

How spending changes through retirement (the spending curve)

Monthly spending isn’t flat across a 25 to 30 year retirement. Research from Grattan, ASFA’s own studies on older retirees, and AIHW health expenditure data all point to a fairly consistent pattern.

Active years (roughly 65 to 74). Spending is at its peak. Travel, dining out, hobbies, helping adult children with weddings or house deposits, and the costs of newly-found leisure time all add up. This is when most retirees come closest to the ASFA comfortable benchmark.

Passive years (75 to 84). Spending falls in real terms for most households. Big trips become rarer. Hobbies become more local. Eating out shifts to lunches rather than dinners. The Grattan Institute research on retirement spending found that even retirees who could afford to maintain spending tend to let it decline through this phase.

Late retirement (85+). ASFA estimates spending at the comfortable level is roughly 10% lower in aggregate for retirees over 85. Leisure and travel drop sharply, but health and home services rise to partially offset that. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports per-person health spending roughly doubles between the 65 to 74 bracket and the 85+ bracket.

The implication is that planning for a flat $6,000 a month from 65 to 95 will most likely overstate what you need across the middle years and understate what you need at the very end for healthcare. Most retirement income plans aren’t built this way.

Why most retirees end up spending less than they expected

This is one of the more counterintuitive findings in Australian retirement research. Grattan calls it the “retirement satisfaction puzzle.” Super Consumers’ 2025 survey found that 90% of retirees who own their home reported being satisfied or neutral about their financial situation, even though their actual spending was below ASFA’s comfortable standard.

The reasons aren’t fully understood, but the main ones appear to be:

• Adaptation. Wants and expectations shift after work stops. Commuting goes. Work clothing goes. The “I deserve this” mid-week dinner habit fades.
• Longevity fear. Many retirees underspend in early retirement because they’re worried about outliving their money. This shows up clearly in research showing pensioners often remain net savers well into their 70s and 80s.
• Habit. Decades of saving don’t switch off the day you retire. Drawing down feels uncomfortable for a lot of people.

Scott unpacked the psychology side of this on the podcast episode The Psychology of Money. One line worth holding on to: “The goal isn’t to die with the largest super balance possible. The goal is to convert capital into confident living.” For a meaningful share of retirees, the planning problem isn’t running out of money. It’s not spending enough of it to enjoy the life their savings could fund.

Three things that meaningfully change your monthly spend

Homeownership versus renting. The single biggest variable. Owning your home outright at retirement is worth roughly $15,000 to $35,000 a year in lower spending compared to renting in a capital city. ASFA’s renter benchmark for a single modest lifestyle is $46,663 a year, which exceeds the full single Age Pension of around $31,223. The gap is structural, not lifestyle.

Healthcare and age. AIHW data shows per-person health spending roughly doubles between the 65 to 74 and 85+ age brackets. For a retiree budgeting $8,000 a year on healthcare at 65, planning for $15,000 to $20,000 a year at 85 is realistic. Scott walked through the longevity side of this on the podcast episode Is Early Retirement a Trap?, including the data point that around 34% of total retirement savings are typically consumed by healthcare, and 50% to 80% of total lifetime healthcare spend lands in the final 24 months of life.

Family support. This is the category most consistently absent from published benchmarks but most consistently present in real retirement spending. In our work with clients, gifting to adult children and contributions to grandchildren’s education regularly run $5,000 to $20,000 a year, often without being budgeted. It’s not a problem if it’s planned. It’s a problem if it isn’t.

How to estimate your own monthly spend

A practical starting point is to track three months of your current spending and adjust:

1. Subtract work-related costs. Commuting, work clothing, lunches at the desk.
2. Add an early retirement lifestyle uplift for the active years. Travel, hobbies, more dining out.
3. Layer in healthcare growth of roughly 2 to 4% above general inflation.
4. Sense-check against the curve. Plan for higher spending in the first decade and a moderate fall in the second, with a healthcare-driven rise in the third.

If you’d rather not build the spreadsheet yourself, the free Wealthlab super calculator gives you a quick view of how your balance, spending and Age Pension fit together.

Related reading

• What Retirement Income Do I Need in Australia? covers the planning side of this question.
• Cost of Living in Retirement in Australia goes deeper on ABS data versus ASFA benchmarks.
• What Are the Biggest Expenses in Retirement? breaks down healthcare, housing, family support and travel category by category.

FAQs

How much does the average retired person spend a month in Australia? ABS data suggests the average homeowner couple aged 65 and over spends around $3,900 to $4,300 a month, and the average single spends around $2,330 to $2,920 a month. These figures sit below ASFA’s “comfortable” benchmarks of $6,375 and $4,520 a month, which model the cost of a comfortable lifestyle rather than capturing what retirees actually spend.

Why is actual spending often lower than the ASFA comfortable benchmark? ASFA models a defined comfortable lifestyle assuming you have the income to afford it. ABS data captures all retiree households, including those drawing only the Age Pension, those who choose to spend less, and renters. Behavioural factors such as longevity fear and ingrained saving habits also keep spending lower than what retirees could afford.

Does retirement spending stay flat across the years? No. Most research shows a curve. Spending is highest in the active years (65 to 74), eases through the passive phase (75 to 84) as travel and dining out fall away, and shifts again in late retirement (85+) when healthcare and home support costs rise. ASFA estimates spending at the comfortable level is around 10% lower for retirees over 85.

Do renters spend more in retirement? Yes, materially. ASFA estimates a single renter on a modest lifestyle needs around $46,663 a year, which is more than the full single Age Pension provides. Owning your home outright at retirement is worth roughly $15,000 to $35,000 a year compared to renting in a capital city.

How much should I budget for healthcare in retirement? A reasonable starting point is $7,000 to $15,000 a year per person in early retirement (60 to 74), rising to $10,000 to $25,000 a year per person from 75. Private health insurance premiums rise faster than general inflation, and dental work, hearing aids and out-of-pocket specialist costs all become more common with age.

Will the Age Pension cover monthly retirement spending? For a modest homeowner couple, the Age Pension covers most of the budget. From 20 March 2026, the maximum Age Pension is around $1,200.90 per fortnight for singles and $1,810.40 combined per fortnight for couples (including supplements). For comfortable spending, the Age Pension contributes a useful base but needs to be combined with super drawdowns or other income.

Ready to map out your own monthly spend?

The averages are a starting point, but the only number that matters for your plan is the one that fits your lifestyle, your home situation, and how you want the next 25 to 30 years to look. If you’d like to talk through what that looks like in practice, book a free chat with the Wealthlab team. No pressure, no jargon.

Not ready for a call? Take the free Wealthlab retirement quiz for a quick snapshot of where you stand.