It’s the question we hear most often from clients across the Sutherland Shire and the Illawarra: how much super is enough to retire on? The honest answer is that there’s no single magic number, and that it is usually the second question rather than the first. When someone asks us how much they need, the first thing we do is turn the question around: what do you actually want retirement to look like? Lifestyle first, numbers second. Once we know what your weeks are meant to look like and what they cost, the balance you need stops being a guess and starts being arithmetic. This guide walks through the national benchmarks, where retirement income actually comes from, how to check whether your super is on track, and the personal factors that move your own number up or down.
The Honest Answer: There Is No Single Magic Number
If you’ve searched this question before, you’ve probably seen a dozen different figures. That’s because “enough” means something different for everyone. A couple who own their home outright, keep active without expensive hobbies, and are happy holidaying within Australia will need far less than a single person renting in Sydney who wants to travel overseas each year.
This is why advisers work in the opposite direction to most online calculators. Rather than starting with a balance and asking what lifestyle it buys, we start with the lifestyle and work back to the balance. Describe the retirement you want in detail, put an annual cost against it, factor in where that income will come from, and only then look at whether your current super is tracking towards it. The benchmarks below give you a sensible starting point for that conversation, and personal advice turns the starting point into a plan built around your circumstances.
ASFA Comfortable vs Modest: The National Benchmarks
The most widely cited yardstick in Australia is the ASFA Retirement Standard, published by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia and updated every quarter. It sets out what retirees need to fund two lifestyles: a “modest” retirement (better than the Age Pension alone, but fairly basic) and a “comfortable” retirement (a broader range of leisure activities, private health cover, a reasonable car, and occasional travel).
Here is the part most articles skip, and the part that matters most in practice: the meaningful figure is the annual income, not the balance. Your super balance is simply what needs to be there to deliver that income. Advisers work in terms of what your year costs, because that is the number you can picture and sense-check against your own life. These are ASFA’s annual budgets for households aged 65 to 84, March quarter 2026:
- Comfortable lifestyle: $55,923 a year for a single person, $78,566 for a couple.
- Modest lifestyle: $36,434 a year for a single person, $52,473 for a couple.
- Modest lifestyle while renting: $51,164 a year for a single person, $69,002 for a couple.
For context, the full Age Pension including supplements runs to $31,223 a year for a single person and $47,070 for a couple (ASFA Retirement Standard, March quarter 2026).
Sit with those income figures for a moment before you look at any balance. For most people in and around Sydney, the comfortable single budget of $55,923 is the number that prompts the real conversation, because it is immediately obvious whether that would cover the life you have in mind in this part of the country. That reaction is far more useful than a lump sum ever is.
The balances follow from the budgets. To fund a comfortable lifestyle, ASFA estimates you need a lump sum of around $630,000 for a single person and $730,000 for a couple (ASFA Retirement Standard, March quarter 2026). A modest lifestyle needs far less, around $110,000 for a single person and $120,000 for a couple, because it leans much more heavily on the Age Pension. In fact, ASFA notes that a modest lifestyle is largely funded by the Age Pension.
Those lump-sum figures rest on a specific set of assumptions, and they matter enormously. The ASFA comfortable and modest numbers assume you:
- retire at around age 67;
- live to about age 85;
- own your home outright, with no mortgage or rent to pay; and
- draw part of the Age Pension alongside your super.
Change any one of those and your number changes with it. If you rent, retire earlier, or want to leave a legacy, you’ll need materially more, which is exactly why the benchmarks are a starting point and not a personal target.
Where Your Retirement Income Actually Comes From
Very few retirees live off one source of money. For most Australians, retirement income comes from three:
- A super pension. Once you’ve retired and met a condition of release, you move your super into a pension and draw a regular income from it under the minimum drawdown rules, rather than taking it as a lump sum.
- Personal savings and investments outside super. Cash, term deposits, shares and managed funds held in your own name, which you can draw on at any age.
- The Age Pension. A means-tested payment from age 67, subject to the income and assets tests.
The mix is what shapes your plan, and it changes over time. If you stop work before 67 you are fully self-funding to begin with: your entire lifestyle comes from your super pension plus your personal savings, with no government payment behind it until Age Pension age arrives. At the other end of the scale, relying wholly on the Age Pension means living at or near the modest budget in the table above, which for a single person is around $31,223 a year against a modest budget of $36,434. That is the practical difference between self-funding and depending on the pension alone, and it is why the balance between the three sources is worth planning deliberately rather than leaving to chance.
How Much Super Should You Have by Age?
Benchmarks tell you where you want to end up. It’s just as useful to know how your balance is tracking along the way, so you can course-correct while you still have time. There’s no universal target for a given age, because a healthy balance depends on your age, your income, and the retirement you’re aiming for. What matters is whether you’re on track for your own goal, not whether you match a national average.
A practical way to check is to compare your balance against a benchmark for your age and income using Moneysmart’s free How much super should I have tool. It gives you a realistic reference point in a couple of minutes.
Two things are worth keeping in mind. First, averages are pulled up by high balances, so the typical person often sits below the average, and women retire with persistently less super on average than men after time out of the workforce and years of part-time work. If your balance sits below where you’d like it to be, you are far from alone. Second, a benchmark is not a target. Many Australians retire on less than the ASFA comfortable figure and rely more heavily on the Age Pension to top up their income. The point of checking your balance isn’t to feel behind or ahead. It’s to see clearly where you are, so you can decide whether to boost contributions, adjust your plans, or both, while there’s still runway to make a difference. Superannuation advice is often the single highest-value step a pre-retiree can take.
How Much Super to Retire at 60 vs 65?
This is where the standard benchmarks quietly break down, and it’s the part most guides skip over. Nearly every published figure assumes you retire at around 67, the age you can claim the Age Pension. But plenty of people want to finish work at 60 or 65, and the earlier you stop, the more your super has to do on its own.
Retiring at 60: minding the pre-67 income gap. If you retire at 60, you can generally access your super (most people reach their “preservation age” and can start drawing on their super from 60), but you cannot receive any Age Pension until 67. Of the three income sources above, only two are available to you: a pension drawn from your super under the rules, and whatever personal savings you hold outside super. Those have to carry your entire lifestyle for roughly seven years before the Age Pension begins to help, and then keep going for the decades after. Those seven years are the quiet trap in early retirement. Funding a comfortable single lifestyle of $55,923 a year entirely from super and personal savings between 60 and 67 draws down a meaningful chunk of your balance before any pension arrives. So retiring at 60 comfortably typically calls for a noticeably larger starting balance than the standard age-67 target, plus a deliberate plan for how you draw down through that gap. This is exactly the kind of scenario where sequencing your withdrawals well can make or break the plan.
Retiring at 65. Retiring at 65 is a gentler version of the same challenge. You have a two-year gap to bridge before Age Pension age at 67, so the pressure on your balance is smaller, but the principle holds: the earlier you retire, the more self-funded years you’re covering, and the bigger the buffer you want behind you.
Retiring at 67 or later. Waiting until Age Pension age lets all three income sources, your super pension, your personal savings and the Age Pension, work together from day one, which is why the ASFA lump-sum targets are pitched at 67. Working even a couple of years longer also gives your super more time to grow and fewer years to fund, which can shift your numbers surprisingly far.
None of this means early retirement is out of reach. It means the target moves, and the drawdown plan matters more. Mapping out the gap years is a core part of retirement planning, and the timing of when you start matters as much as the plan itself. Most people come to it late, often less than five years out from the date they’d like to stop work. Five to ten years beforehand is a far better window, because it leaves time to model several different paths, weigh the risks attached to each, and still have every lever available to change the outcome. A gap identified early can usually be closed with modest adjustments. The same gap found in your final year of work leaves you choosing between working longer and expecting less.
What Changes Your Number
The benchmarks assume an “average” retiree. You are not average, and a handful of personal factors can shift your target substantially in either direction.
Whether you own your home, or rent. This is the single biggest swing factor, and it’s built into the fine print of every benchmark. Every ASFA figure assumes you own your home outright. The gap is stark once you see it in income terms: ASFA’s modest budget for a single renter is $51,164 a year against $36,434 for a single homeowner, and $69,002 against $52,473 for a couple (March quarter 2026). On the lump-sum side, a modest retirement while renting privately calls for roughly $340,000 for a single person and $385,000 for a couple, against $110,000 and $120,000 for homeowners. Rent in and around Sydney and the Shire is not cheap, so for Shire and Illawarra locals who’ll be renting, the target sits well above the headline number. If you expect to still be renting when you retire, that needs to sit at the centre of your plan, not the margins.
Your health and how long you’ll live. Retirement can easily last 25 to 30 years or more. Planning to a realistic life expectancy, often into your 90s, protects you against the real risk of outliving your money. Health costs also tend to rise later in life, so a comfortable budget builds in private health cover and a buffer for medical expenses.
Your investment option, and sequencing risk. The way your super is invested changes both how much it’s likely to grow and how bumpy the ride is. A growth option has historically produced higher long-term returns than a balanced or conservative option, but with larger ups and downs along the way. That volatility matters most right around the time you retire, because a poor run of returns in the first few years of drawing down your super, while you’re also making withdrawals, can do lasting damage to how long your money lasts. This is known as sequencing risk, and it’s one of the main reasons the investment mix you held while building your super often needs a rethink as you approach retirement. There’s no single “right” option, but there is a right option for your timeline, your comfort with risk, and your income needs, and getting that balance considered is where personal investment advice earns its keep.
The Age Pension Backstop
For most Australian retirees, super isn’t the whole story. The Age Pension is a means-tested government safety net that you may qualify for from age 67, and for many people it supplements their super and fills a meaningful part of the gap, which is precisely why the ASFA comfortable lump sum is lower than you might expect.
You can generally claim the Age Pension from age 67, subject to income and assets tests. How much you receive depends on your income and assets. You can check the current rates and thresholds on the Services Australia website.
The key thing to understand is the interaction. As your super and other assets rise, your Age Pension entitlement tapers down, and vice versa. This means the “right” amount of super isn’t simply the biggest number possible. For some people, structuring assets thoughtfully can improve the combined outcome from super and the pension together. Centrelink and Age Pension strategy is genuinely complex, and it’s an area where tailored advice frequently pays for itself.
A Couple of Simple Scenarios
Benchmarks land better with an example, so here are two illustrative sketches. They’re general in nature, not projections for any individual.
A homeowner couple retiring at 67. They own their Shire home outright and want a comfortable lifestyle, which ASFA puts at $78,566 a year. Against the comfortable couple lump sum of roughly $730,000, they aim to build a combined super balance in that region, knowing the Age Pension will supplement their income as their balance draws down over time. Their focus in the years beforehand is boosting contributions and making sure their investment mix suits a soon-to-start drawdown.
A single person retiring at 60. They want to finish work early and travel while they’re fit. Because they have seven years before any Age Pension and want an overseas trip most years, their target sits well above the standard $630,000 single figure. Their plan centres on a bigger starting balance, a careful drawdown strategy through the pre-67 gap years when only their super pension and personal savings are available, and an investment approach that manages sequencing risk in those crucial early years.
Two people, two very different numbers, and neither is captured by a single headline figure. That’s the whole point.
How an Adviser Helps You Find Your Number
A benchmark can’t know your mortgage, your health, your family, or the age you actually want to stop working. That’s the gap a financial adviser fills, and “gap” is the right word, because what an adviser runs is essentially a gap analysis between the retirement you want and the one you’re currently on track for.
In practice the process runs something like this:
- Detail the lifestyle first. Work through what you actually want your retirement to look like, week to week, not in headlines.
- Cost it. Confirm what that lifestyle will cost to fund each year, in today’s dollars.
- Model where you’re heading. Look at what you’re doing with your money now, and project the likely outcome on clear, stated assumptions.
- Identify the gap. Compare that likely outcome against what you want to achieve, and size the difference honestly.
- Build the options. Model several action plans for closing the gap, so you’re comparing real alternatives rather than accepting one recommendation.
- Implement the one you choose. Put the plan you prefer into effect.
- Review and adjust. Revisit progress at least annually and make the adjustments that keep the plan delivering as life changes.
For pre-retirees across the Sutherland Shire, the Illawarra and beyond, that usually means answering the questions the benchmarks can’t: Can I afford to retire at 60? How do I fund the years before the Age Pension starts? Is my super invested the right way for this stage of life? Should I be salary sacrificing more, and how much difference does it actually make? These are the conversations that turn a rough number into a plan you can act on with confidence.
You can also model the numbers yourself as a starting point using the free government retirement planner calculator on Moneysmart. It’s a genuinely useful tool for getting a feel for the figures. Where personal advice adds value is in the parts a calculator can’t weigh: your drawdown strategy, your investment mix, the Age Pension interaction, and the trade-offs that are specific to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much super do I need to retire comfortably in Australia?
Start with the income rather than the balance. ASFA puts a comfortable retirement at $55,923 a year for a single person and $78,566 for a couple (ASFA Retirement Standard, March quarter 2026). The lump sums that support those budgets are around $630,000 and $730,000 respectively, assuming you retire at about 67, own your home, and draw a part Age Pension. Your own figure could be higher or lower depending on your lifestyle, whether you rent, your health, and when you retire. Treat the benchmark as a starting point, not a personal target.
Where does retirement income actually come from?
For most Australians, from three sources: a pension drawn from your super, personal savings and investments held outside super, and the Age Pension from age 67. The proportions shift over your retirement, and if you stop work before 67 the first two have to carry you on their own until Age Pension age.
How much super do I need to retire at 60?
More than the standard age-67 benchmark, because your super pension and personal savings have to fund your lifestyle entirely for the roughly seven years before the Age Pension begins at 67. That pre-67 gap draws down your balance before any pension helps, so retiring comfortably at 60 typically calls for a larger starting balance and a deliberate drawdown plan through those early years.
Is the Age Pension enough to retire on by itself?
The full Age Pension is designed to provide a basic safety net rather than a comfortable lifestyle. At $31,223 a year for a single person and $47,070 for a couple including supplements, it sits below even ASFA’s modest budget of $36,434 and $52,473, and well below the comfortable budgets. It can be particularly tight if you rent. Most people use super to lift their income above the pension and give themselves choices.
What if my super balance is below the average for my age?
You’re far from alone, and averages are pulled up by high balances so the typical person often sits below them. The more useful step is to look at where you are, then at what you can still do: boosting contributions, reviewing your investment option, consolidating multiple accounts, and adjusting your planned retirement age can all move your outcome. The earlier you look, the more levers you have.
Do I need more super if I’m renting in retirement?
Yes, usually a good deal more. Every published benchmark assumes you own your home outright. ASFA’s modest budget for a single renter is $51,164 a year against $36,434 for a homeowner, and the lump sum needed for a modest retirement while renting privately is around $340,000 for a single person against $110,000 for a homeowner. If you expect to rent, make it a central part of your planning.
When should I start planning for retirement?
Sooner than most people do. It’s common to start thinking seriously about it less than five years out from the date you’d like to stop work, but five to ten years beforehand gives you far more room. That window lets you model several different paths, weigh the risks attached to each, and still have time for the adjustments to compound. A gap found early is usually closed with modest changes; the same gap found late leaves fewer options.
There’s no single number that answers “how much super do I need to retire,” and anyone who gives you one without asking about your life is guessing. Start with the lifestyle, put an annual figure against it, understand which of your three income sources will be doing the work and when, and the balance you need becomes something you can plan towards rather than worry about. The ASFA benchmarks give you a realistic frame, but your real target depends on your lifestyle, your home, your health, and the age you want to stop working. The good news is that the sooner you look at your own numbers, the more you can do to shape the outcome.
If you’d like to know what your number looks like, the team at Future Point Wealth offers a no-obligation chat to talk through your retirement, your super, and how to get there. We’re based in the Sutherland Shire and work with clients across the Illawarra, the Blue Mountains and the South Coast. Call us on 1800 840 399 or get in touch online to arrange a time that suits you. Our advice is provided under Alliance Wealth Pty Ltd (AFSL 449221).
General Advice Disclaimer: This information has been provided as general advice. We have not considered your financial circumstances, needs or objectives. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice. You should obtain and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any products or strategies mentioned in this communication.
