How much super do I need to retire in Australia?
There is no single figure: it turns on the spending, how long it has to last, and how much the Age Pension pays. For a couple who own their home and retire at 67 this year, $500,000 of super between them lasts to age 92 at up to $74,000 a year; $250,000 lasts at up to $59,000, and $1,000,000 at up to $94,000, in today’s dollars.
What their super supports
The most the couple could spend a year from retiring until they are 92, with the money still lasting, for four amounts of super. The Age Pension pays part of it, more the less super they have:
| Super between them | The most they could spend a year, to 92 | Their Age Pension in 2027–28 |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $59,000 | $48,738 |
| $500,000 | $74,000 | $45,923 |
| $750,000 | $86,000 | $31,255 |
| $1,000,000 | $94,000 | $12,344 |
Each step of super adds less: from $250,000 to $500,000 adds $15,000 a year of spending, and from $750,000 to $1,000,000, $8,000. More super means less Age Pension: above the assets test’s threshold ($499,000 for a homeowner couple, the home not counted) the couple’s pension reduces by $3 a fortnight for each $1,000.
The Age Pension is for 2027–28, their first full year of it. In today’s dollars it grows a little with wages, so it can be above the full rate for 2026–27 shown further down.
The household
Kim and Lee both turn 67 in January 2027 and stop work then. They own their home in New South Wales outright ($1,100,000, and $6,000 a year in rates, insurance and upkeep on top of the spending), have $20,000 in the bank, and their super is split evenly between them. The plan runs until they are 92.
Super earns 6.5% a year with no fees taken from it, and once it pays a retirement pension its earnings aren’t taxed. Cash in the bank earns 4.1%, and prices rise 2.5% a year; the spending rises with prices. The Age Pension is indexed to the higher of prices and wages (3% a year), so in today’s dollars it grows a little each year. Every figure is in today’s dollars (2026, at 2.5% inflation). For a household retiring this year, as here, that is also the present value ASIC’s relief for super calculators sets. Each assumption can be changed in the plan.
This household is an illustration, not a recommendation: its figures show how the rules work out for one household on these assumptions, and a household with different figures gets different answers.
The figures behind it
| Preservation age, born after 30 June 1964 | 60 |
|---|---|
| Super can be reached whether working or not from | 65 |
| Age Pension age | 67 |
| Full Age Pension a year, single | $32,180 |
| Full Age Pension a year, couple together | $48,516 |
| Assets test, homeowner couple: no pension from | $1,121,000 |
| Transfer balance cap: the most each person can move into a retirement pension | $2,100,000 |
Super can be reached on retiring from preservation age. Once it pays a retirement pension, its earnings are tax-free and it has to pay at least a minimum each year:
| Age | Of the balance |
|---|---|
| Under 65 | 4% |
| 65 to 74 | 5% |
| 75 to 79 | 6% |
| 80 to 84 | 7% |
| 85 to 89 | 9% |
| 90 to 94 | 11% |
| 95 and over | 14% |
The rest of the Age Pension’s figures are in Age Pension income and assets test thresholds, and the pension rules in transfer balance cap and minimum pension drawdowns.
See this household in My Runway (read only) →
General information only, not financial advice. It doesn’t consider your circumstances; check the figures with the source and speak to a licensed adviser before you act on them.