It’s one of the most searched questions in Australian personal finance: how much super do I need to retire? And the frustrating reality is that most answers either terrify you with a number you’ll never reach, or give you such a wide range it tells you nothing useful.
So let’s cut through it. Here’s what the actual benchmarks say in 2026, what they leave out, and how to work out the number that matters for your specific situation.
How Much Super Do You Need to Retire in Australia?
The two most widely used benchmarks in Australia are ASFA (the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia) and Super Consumers Australia. They arrive at very different figures, and understanding why matters.
ASFA’s 2026 Retirement Standard estimates:
| Lifestyle | Single | Couple |
|---|---|---|
| Modest | $35,503 per year | $50,866 per year |
| Comfortable | $54,240 per year | $77,375 per year |
The lump sum ASFA suggests you need at retirement to fund a comfortable lifestyle is $630,000 for a single person and $730,000 for a couple. For a modest lifestyle, you need far less because the Age Pension covers most of it, around $110,000 to $120,000.
Super Consumers Australia takes a different approach, using actual ABS data on what retirees really spend rather than a modelled lifestyle. Their finding: a typical single retiree spending at a medium level needs around $322,000 in super. For a couple, around $432,000.
That’s a massive gap between the two benchmarks. The difference is that ASFA models an aspirational lifestyle, while Super Consumers Australia reflects how Australians actually live in retirement.
Both assume you own your home outright. If you don’t, the numbers climb significantly.
What Is a Good Super Balance at Retirement Age?
A useful reference point is the average Australian super balance at different ages. According to APRA data (December 2025 quarter):
- Ages 60 to 64: average combined balance around $420,000 to $450,000
- Ages 65 to 69: average combined balance around $430,000 to $460,000
So the majority of Australians retire with balances well below ASFA’s comfortable standard. That’s not necessarily a problem because the Age Pension is doing significant work in most retirement plans. At the medium spending level modelled by Super Consumers Australia, around 67% of retirement income comes from the Age Pension, with super filling the gap.
What this means in practice is that you don’t need $630,000 to have a decent retirement. You need enough super to top up the Age Pension to the lifestyle you want. For most homeowners, that gap is smaller than the ASFA headline figure suggests.
How Much Super Do I Need to Retire at 60?
Retiring at 60 is a different question from retiring at 65 or 67, and it’s one Australians ask a lot. The challenge is the seven-year gap before Age Pension eligibility at 67.
If you retire at 60 with $330,000 in super, here’s what that looks like at different spending levels, assuming a moderate investment return of 5 to 6% per year:
| Annual Spending | How Long $330K Lasts |
|---|---|
| $25,000 per year | 20 to 24 years |
| $30,000 per year | 16 to 18 years |
| $40,000 per year | 11 to 13 years |
At $30K per year spending, $330K gets you to about age 77 to 78 before running out. But from 67, the Age Pension kicks in and dramatically reduces the pressure on your balance. If you draw $30K from super between 60 and 67, that’s $210,000 drawn down, leaving roughly $120,000 still invested. Combined with the Age Pension from 67, a single homeowner could have a total income of $40,000 to $45,000 per year, which is a workable modest retirement.
The key is not letting the gap years between 60 and 67 drain your balance completely. Drawing $25,000 rather than $35,000 in that window makes a real difference to what you arrive at 67 with.
Scott and Phil covered this exact scenario in detail in Episode 19: Is Early Retirement a Trap? The $150K Gap Most Aussies Miss. The numbers show that retiring even one year earlier than planned can shorten how long your money lasts by more than you’d expect.
Want to model your own numbers? The free Wealthlab super calculator lets you plug in your balance, spending, and retirement age to see how the timeline plays out.
How Much Super Do I Need to Retire at 65?
Retiring at 65 changes the equation considerably. You only have a two-year gap before Age Pension eligibility, which means your super barely needs to move before Centrelink starts supplementing your income.
With $330,000 at 65, drawing $30,000 per year for two years leaves you with around $270,000 when the Age Pension starts. From there, a single homeowner drawing modestly from super plus the Age Pension could have a combined income of $45,000 to $50,000 per year. For a couple, both with modest balances, the combined picture looks more comfortable still.
This is why financial planners often say that two or three extra working years can make a dramatic difference to retirement outcomes. It’s not just the extra super contributions. It’s also fewer years of drawdown before the pension helps.
How Much Super Do I Need to Retire at 67?
At 67, you hit Age Pension eligibility age and your super immediately has company. This is the scenario the ASFA benchmarks are built around, and it’s why the lump sum figures are lower than many people expect.
A single homeowner with $330,000 at 67 could receive around $28,500 per year from the Age Pension plus whatever their super generates. At a 5% drawdown rate, $330K generates roughly $16,500 per year. That’s a combined income of around $45,000 per year, comfortably above ASFA’s modest standard and getting close to the mid-point between modest and comfortable.
The Age Pension is means-tested, so the exact entitlement depends on assets and income. Services Australia’s assets test for the Age Pension and income test for the Age Pension explain how your balance and drawdown affect entitlements.
How Much Super Is Enough? The Question Most Benchmarks Can’t Answer
Here’s what the benchmarks don’t tell you.
The right super balance for retirement isn’t a universal number. It’s the amount that, combined with the Age Pension and any other income, funds the lifestyle you actually want to live. That number is different for a single homeowner in regional Victoria versus a couple renting in Sydney. It’s different for someone who wants to travel regularly versus someone happy to potter around the garden.
The useful exercise isn’t matching yourself against ASFA’s comfortable standard and panicking about the gap. It’s building a retirement budget from the ground up: what do you actually spend now, what will change in retirement (no mortgage, no work costs, no kids at home), and what income sources will you have?
Most Australians who do this exercise find the number they need is lower than the benchmark suggests, particularly if they own their home and don’t have expensive tastes.
Phil put it well on the podcast: “I’ll give you the quick nuts and bolts.” The nuts and bolts are: what you spend, where it comes from, and whether it lasts. Everything else is noise.
What Happens If My Super Isn’t Enough?
If you’re approaching retirement with less than you’d like, the options are more useful than most people realise.
Catch-up concessional contributions: If your balance is under $500,000 and you’ve had years with unused concessional contribution caps (going back five years), you can make larger contributions now and potentially add $50,000 to $100,000 to your balance before retiring. This is one of the most underused strategies in Australian retirement planning.
Work a little longer or go part-time: Two extra years of contributions and two fewer years of drawdown can add four to six years of longevity to your retirement funding. The Transition to Retirement (TTR) strategy lets you reduce hours while drawing some super income, which eases the mental shift from full-time work to full retirement.
Downsize contributions: If you sell a home you’ve owned for at least 10 years, you can contribute up to $300,000 per person into super from the proceeds, regardless of normal contribution caps. Scott and Phil covered the traps in this strategy in Episode 2: Downsizer Contributions: The Hidden Traps You Must Know.
Structure the drawdown carefully: How you draw from super matters as much as how much you have. An account-based pension with a thoughtful drawdown strategy, including keeping some growth assets invested, can extend the life of a modest balance significantly. MoneySmart’s retirement income and super page has useful general guidance on working out what you need.
How Much Super Do You Need? A Practical Summary
Rather than one number, here are honest ranges based on retirement age and lifestyle for a homeowner:
| Retirement Age | Modest Lifestyle | Comfortable Lifestyle |
|---|---|---|
| Retire at 60 | $350,000 to $500,000 | $700,000+ |
| Retire at 65 | $250,000 to $400,000 | $600,000+ |
| Retire at 67 | $110,000 to $300,000 | $630,000+ |
These ranges account for the Age Pension doing more of the work the later you retire, and assume home ownership. Renters need significantly more at every age. Couples with combined balances can reference the couple figures for ASFA’s standards.
For more detail on the planning side, our retirement planning page and superannuation page cover the strategies that make the most difference.
FAQs
How much super do I need to retire in Australia? The most widely used benchmark is ASFA’s 2026 standard: $630,000 for a single person and $730,000 for a couple to fund a comfortable retirement at 67. Super Consumers Australia puts it lower, around $322,000 for a single person at a medium spending level. Both assume home ownership. The right figure for you depends on your spending, retirement age, and whether you’ll receive the Age Pension.
How much super do I need to retire at 60? More than if you retire at 65 or 67, because you have a seven-year gap before the Age Pension starts. As a guide, a single homeowner wanting a modest to mid-range retirement at 60 needs $350,000 to $500,000 in super. A couple needs more in combined terms. The exact figure depends heavily on planned spending.
Is $300,000 enough to retire in Australia? For a homeowner retiring at 65 or 67 with modest spending expectations, $300,000 can work once the Age Pension supplements your income. Retiring at 60 on $300,000 is tighter. You’d need to draw conservatively between 60 and 67 and arrive at pension eligibility age with a meaningful balance still invested.
How much super should I have at 55? ASFA track targets suggest a single person earning $65,000 per year should have around $210,000 to $230,000 by 55 to be on track for a comfortable retirement at 67. If you’re below that, catch-up contributions and salary sacrifice in the remaining working years can close the gap more than most people realise.
What is a good super balance at retirement? There’s no universal good balance. The useful question is whether your super, combined with the Age Pension and any other income, funds the lifestyle you want. For most homeowners with modest spending, a balance between $300,000 and $500,000 at retirement age can be workable with the right structure. A balance above $630,000 for a single or $730,000 for a couple gives more flexibility and less reliance on the Age Pension.
How much super do I need to retire comfortably? ASFA’s 2026 standard puts comfortable retirement at $54,240 per year for a single homeowner and $77,375 for a couple, requiring $630,000 and $730,000 in super respectively. But “comfortable” means different things to different people. A financial adviser can help you build a retirement budget based on what you actually want your life to look like. Use the MoneySmart retirement planner as a starting point.
Can I retire with $330K? Yes, particularly at 65 or 67 where the Age Pension quickly supplements your income. At 60, $330K requires careful management of the seven-year gap before pension eligibility. Drawing $25,000 to $28,000 per year between 60 and 67 leaves a meaningful balance still invested when the pension starts, producing a combined income of $40,000 to $45,000 per year for a single homeowner. That’s not lavish, but it’s a workable retirement with the right structure in place. Managing your super wisely during this period is straightforward with tools like the MyGov super management page.
Not Sure Where You Stand? Let’s Work It Out
Every retirement is different. The benchmarks give you a framework but they can’t account for your home, your health, your spending habits, or when you actually want to stop working.
Book a free 15-minute call with Wealthlab and get a straight answer on where your super sits, what the Age Pension means for you, and what you’d need to do differently to retire when you want.