Whether you plan to rely on some or all of your super to support your retirement lifestyle, having a handle on how much you have now and need in the future, will increase your options. So let's take a look at how much you'll have in retirement.  Before we do let's find out how much you'll have.  In this next module, we will look at your current investments and the amount risk you are currently taking, and how this will affect your final retirement balance. You will understand what risks are appropriate for different life stages.

 

How much retirement income do you need?

 

 

It’s important to set realistic expectations about the lifestyle you want. It's your lifestyle that influences how much you need each year in retirement. This is going to be different for everyone.

The ASFA Retirement Standard (Association of Super Funds Australia) benchmarks the annual budget needed by the average Australian to fund both a comfortable and a modest standard of living in the post-work years. The table below outlines these figures alongside the full Age pension:

 

 

 

 

 

 

                   Budgets for various households and living standards for those aged around 65 (March 2017, National). Age pension payments are current from 1 July 2017 - 19 September 2017 and include the                      Pension Supplement and Clean Energy Supplement). Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar.

 

Comfortable' lifestyle figures in the above table as a baseline target for your retirement. You should use this as your target to ensure you are on the right track to enjoying a comfortable retirement (unless you feel you need different amount).

 

Many retirees may need to rely substantially on the age pension. The question is – do you want to be one of them?

Ultimately we want to be able to maintain a similar lifestyle plus some extras in the first 5 to 10 years of retirement (like new car, travel, etc.).

 

 

That's why we use the comfortable lifestyle benchmark as the target for how much income you need each year in retirement. From there we work out how much you need in the pool at retirement.