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The ASFA standard says $630,000. But your real number depends on your city, lifestyle, and pension eligibility.
Quick answer: to work out how much super you need, run it backwards from your target income — under the 4% rule you need roughly 25× your annual spend (about ~$1.25M for a fully self-funded $50,000/year, ~$1.5M for $60,000), less any Age Pension. ASFA Retirement Standard for retirement at age 67, homeowners: comfortable lifestyle ~$630,000 single / ~$730,000 couple (revised February 2026) to fund $56,166 / $78,998 annual spend on the June quarter 2026 budgets, combined with a part Age Pension. Modest lifestyle: ~$110,000 single / ~$120,000 couple, funding $36,548 / $52,690 — the lump sum is far smaller because the Age Pension covers about 88% of a modest single budget. Concessional contributions cap is $32,500/year for FY2026-27 (up from $30,000); non-concessional cap $130,000. Super preservation age is 60 for those born after July 1964; tax-free withdrawal applies after age 60.
Your retirement target
$1,375,000
$55,000/yr × 4% rule
Projected at 60
$18,066,155
At 7.5% return + 12% SG
Surplus
+$16,691,155
When you can retire at 60: you can draw your super from the day you retire (preservation age 60). The Age Pension starts at 67, so super and savings carry 7 years on their own: $385,000 of income at $55,000 a year.
Save your retirement target
Track your super against this target and see the gap close as your balance grows.
Retirement target
$1,375,000
Projected at 60
$18,066,155
Surplus
+$16,691,155
Australia has no compulsory retirement age. Two ages decide when the money arrives. Your preservation age, 60 for anyone born from 1 July 1964, is when you can take your super once you retire; at 65 you can take it even if you keep working. The Age Pension starts at 67, and Services Australia says there are no plans to change that. Retire before 67 and your super and savings pay your whole income until the pension begins. Set your retirement age in the calculator above to see your own gap.
| Date of birth | Preservation age |
|---|---|
| Before 1 July 1960 | 55 |
| 1 July 1960 – 30 June 1961 | 56 |
| 1 July 1961 – 30 June 1962 | 57 |
| 1 July 1962 – 30 June 1963 | 58 |
| 1 July 1963 – 30 June 1964 | 59 |
| From 1 July 1964 | 60 |
Your preservation age is not your pension age. Everyone born before 1 July 1964 has already reached theirs, so for anyone who has not reached their preservation age yet, it is 60.
Retiring at 60 means 7 years with no Age Pension. At ASFA's comfortable budget for a single homeowner, $56,166 a year (June quarter 2026), those years alone cost $393,162 before you have funded a single year after 67. Retiring earlier than 60 adds years that must come from savings outside super.
| Retire at | Super | Years to 67 | Income to fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | Locked to 60 | 12 | $673,992 |
| 58 | Locked to 60 | 9 | $505,494 |
| 60 | Accessible | 7 | $393,162 |
| 62 | Accessible | 5 | $280,830 |
| 65 | Accessible | 2 | $112,332 |
| 67 | Accessible | 0 | $0 |
Income to fund = years before 67 × ASFA comfortable single budget; investment returns during those years are ignored, so it errs high. From 67 the Age Pension is means-tested: a single homeowner gets the full rate ($32,180 a year from 20 September 2026) only with assessable assets up to $333,000, and a part pension above that. Sources: ATO, "When you can withdraw your super" (updated 10 July 2026); Services Australia, "Who can get Age Pension"; ASFA Retirement Standard.
See what the means test leaves you with the Age Pension calculator, how long a balance lasts once you start drawing it with the super drawdown calculator, and how to keep working part-time from 60 with the transition to retirement calculator.
| City | Comfortable/yr | Modest/yr | Super needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | $58,000 | $32,000 | $1,450,000 |
| Melbourne | $52,000 | $29,000 | $1,300,000 |
| Brisbane | $48,000 | $27,000 | $1,200,000 |
| Perth | $50,000 | $28,000 | $1,250,000 |
| Adelaide | $44,000 | $25,000 | $1,100,000 |
| Hobart | $45,000 | $26,000 | $1,125,000 |
| Regional Avg | $42,000 | $24,000 | $1,050,000 |
Sources: ASFA, ABS. Click a city to update the calculator. Super needed assumes 4% withdrawal rate.
Two Age Pension changes land on 20 September 2026, and they pull in opposite directions. Maximum rates rise $36.80 a fortnight for singles and $55.60 for couples combined — the largest increase since March 2023 — but the deeming rates rise 0.5 percentage points each to 1.75% and 3.75% on the same day. Deeming feeds only the income test, so full-rate and assets-tested pensioners keep the whole rise, while an income-tested single with more than about $382,700 in financial assets ends up worse off, not better (about $578,200 for a couple). Run both bases to see which test binds your payment.
This calculator gives you one target and one projection. If you are still deciding when to stop work, the Australian retirement planning guide takes it step by step: bridging from 55 to preservation age 60 on savings outside super, tax-free super once you retire at 60, Age Pension eligibility at 67, and your readiness under conservative, base and optimistic returns.
Tell Richify AI your current super balance and it will show you exactly how to get there — and how soon. Track super, investments, and property all in one place.
Download Richify — 7-day free trialASFA recommends $630,000 (single) or $730,000 (couple) for a comfortable retirement — revised upward in February 2026 from $595,000 / $690,000. But your actual number depends on your city, desired lifestyle, and Age Pension eligibility.
Someone retiring in Sydney needs significantly more than someone in regional Queensland.
As a rule of thumb, about $1.25 million if you fund it entirely from super — the 4% rule takes $50,000 ÷ 4%. For $60,000/year it's about $1.5 million, and for $80,000/year about $2 million, fully self-funded.
In practice most retirees also draw a part Age Pension, which cuts the super needed substantially: ASFA estimates roughly $630,000 (single homeowner) supports a comfortable ~$52,000/year once combined with a part pension. Enter your target income and toggle the Age Pension above to see your own number.
It works backwards from the income you want. You set your desired annual retirement income; the calculator applies the 4% safe-withdrawal rule (income ÷ 4% = the lump sum that can sustain it), subtracts the Age Pension if you're eligible, and compares the result to your projected balance so you can see the gap.
That makes it a reverse 'how much super do I need' calculator, not just a forward balance projection.
ASFA defines a comfortable retirement as requiring ~$51,000/year for singles and ~$72,000/year for couples. This covers essentials plus regular recreational activities, a good car, private health insurance, and occasional overseas travel.
There is no compulsory retirement age. The age that matters for income is the Age Pension age, 67 (Services Australia: no plans to change it).
Super is a separate clock: you can take it once you retire after your preservation age, 60 for anyone born from 1 July 1964, or from 65 even while working. Retire before 67 and super and savings fund every year until the pension starts.
It depends on your date of birth (ATO): 55 if born before 1 July 1960, rising one year per financial-year band to 59 for 1 July 1963 – 30 June 1964, and 60 for anyone born from 1 July 1964. Everyone in the earlier bands has already reached theirs, so for anyone still working today it is 60.
Most Australians can access super from age 60 if they've met a condition of release (e.g., retirement, ceasing employment). From age 65, super is accessible regardless of employment status.
If you retire before 60, you need non-super savings to bridge the gap.
Yes — you can toggle Age Pension eligibility. If eligible, the calculator reduces the required super balance accordingly.
Full Age Pension is $32,180/year (single) or $48,516/year (couple combined) on the rates in force from 20 September 2026, up from $31,223 and $47,070 for 20 March – 19 September 2026, subject to assets and income tests.
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