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Interesting article on how much you need to have in super for a great lifestyle in retirement.

I do love the matter of fact way they say last year it was $X and one year later it is $X+10% and if inflation keeps going going the value of the original $X keeps falling and the drawdown required keeps increasing to cover the inflation induced drop in buying power.

I personally don't think $690K is enough to sleep well at night, but that's only my personal thoughts.


  https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/how-much-does-a-year-of-relaxed-retirement-cost-now-20230912-p5e41n.html

So, what’s the bottom line? How much does it cost to live, if not large, then live a little in retirement?


A comfortable retirement is now said by ASFA to set back singles $50,207 a year and couples, $70,806.

Just over $30,000 ($31,867) will if you are single see you live modestly, while $45,947 will if you are in a couple.

What, then, is the lump sum required to generate these standards of retirement?

Not as much as you think, assuming – as ASFA does – that you both own your own home by retirement and thus have no accommodation costs, and that you draw down all your capital over time and also receive a (growing) portion of the government age pension.

As it explains in its detailed assumptions document: “In March 2023, ASFA revised the modest and comfortable lump sums needed to reflect the high rate of inflation, and that there has been no real increase in the age pension as price growth has been greater than the increase in average wages.”


While a lump sum of $545,000 was previously said to be sufficient for a single to retire comfortably, and $640,000 for a cost-sharing couple, today the amounts are $595,000 and $690,000 respectively. So, yes, these are higher than last year. But no, they are not a probably impossible $1million.


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