How much do I need to retire?
It's the most common question we get asked as financial planners. How much do I need to retire but it's like asking how long is a piece of string. It all depends! It depends on what type of retirement you want, how long you'll be in retirement for, what additional expenses you'll have, how your money is invested in retirement, how many holiday's you're going on, if the kids are still at home or you're their resident baby sitter, and the list goes on.
Each year the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) issues new figures that they believe, based on their research, that is needed to live a modest and comfortable lifestyle in retirement.
Based on the figures released by ASFA, an average single retiree would require approximately $545,000 in super benefits in order to fund a comfortable retirement and a couple would need around $640,000. However if you were after just a modest retirement, in addition to receiving the Age Pension, they estimate you would need only $35,000 for a couple and $50,000 for a single.
But what does comfortable and modest mean when we're talking about retirement lifestyles? Well, ASFA have suggested...
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