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Retirement Planner
Retirement planning is one question: does the capital you will have support the income you want for as long as you need it? Everything else is detail.
Super, outside assets and Age Pension combined
At a glance
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The retirement you want
Sustainable income
$0per year, after tax
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Where retirement plans break
The spending estimate is too low
ASFA’s comfortable standard for a couple is around $75,000 a year, and for a single about $52,000. Most people underestimate by 20% because they forget travel in the early years and health costs later.
The pension is overestimated
The Age Pension is means tested and deeming applies. A couple with $900,000 in super will receive a part pension, but far less than the maximum figure they may have seen quoted.
Sequencing risk is ignored
A 4% average return delivered as −15%, −8%, then +20% is not the same as 4% every year if you are drawing down. The order of returns matters once you stop contributing.
Age 50, retiring at 65 on $85,000 a year
Super of $450,000 and $150,000 outside, on a $160,000 salary with $10,000 of salary sacrifice, reaches $1,439,571 in super and $266,271 outside — $1,705,842 in total at 65.
That funds $92,749 a year to age 95, $7,749 above target. Note the Age Pension estimate is zero: at this asset level the household is self-funded, and the plan cannot lean on it. Working two more years adds $9,898 a year; another $10,000 of contributions adds only $967.
Retirement planning questions
How much do I need to retire in Australia?
ASFA's comfortable standard requires about $690,000 for a couple and $595,000 for a single, assuming home ownership and a part Age Pension. A self-funded comfortable retirement needs closer to $1.1m for a couple. The figure depends entirely on the income you want.
What withdrawal rate is safe?
Australian modelling generally supports 4–4.5% for a 30-year retirement with a balanced portfolio, and 3.5% for a more conservative mix. The 4% rule originated in US data; Australian and global returns support something similar, with more volatility.
Should I pay off the mortgage before retiring?
Usually yes. A mortgage in retirement must be funded from drawdowns, and the interest is not tax deductible on an owner-occupied loan. Clearing it reduces required income permanently and improves Age Pension entitlements.
How does the Age Pension interact with my super drawdown?
The pension is assessed on assets and deemed income, so how you draw from super affects the result. Drawing from super faster to reduce assessable assets can increase the pension — but reduces the capital that generates tax-free earnings. It needs modelling, not rules of thumb.
When should I move super into pension phase?
When you meet a condition of release and stop working, or from 65. Moving earlier than needed is not always optimal because contributions can no longer be made to a pension account — you need to keep an accumulation account for that.
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Turn these numbers into a decision
A calculator gives you a range. An adviser gives you a decision — pressure-tested against your super, your tax position and the life you actually want to fund.
General advice only · No obligation · No product push
This is a projection, not a plan. It assumes constant returns, 3% salary growth and inflation at 2.5%, and it estimates the Age Pension rather than applying Centrelink rules in full. Sequencing risk, health costs and aged care are not modelled. General advice only — speak to an adviser before acting.
Reviewed November 2026 · FY2026–27 rates and thresholds