ASFA Retirement Standard

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) Retirement Standard is Australia’s trusted retirement savings companion, providing a breakdown of estimated expenses for both comfortable and modest lifestyles, for couples and singles to maintain a healthy, vital and connected lifestyle in retirement.

Updated quarterly, the Retirement Standard provides a guide to weekly and annual expenses, helping Australians plan effectively for their retirement.

One of the most important steps in planning to save for your retirement is figuring how much you will need to spend each year to live a comfortable lifestyle. However, many people struggle when it comes to developing a budget for their future needs, particularly when their retirement is many years away.

The ASFA Retirement Standard has been developed to help solve this problem by objectively outlining the annual budget needed by the average Australian to fund a comfortable standard of living in their post work years. It provides benchmarks for both a comfortable and modest standard of living, for both singles and couples and is updated quarterly to reflect changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

First launched in 2004, the Standard has been enhanced over the past 20 years to increasingly provide a more comprehensive picture of retiree’s spending requirements. It has also been revised to reflect changes in living standards, retirees’ lifestyle expectations and their evolving spending patterns.

How much super do I need?

The ASFA Retirement Standard is Australia’s benchmark guide to how much you need to spend in retirement. For 20 years it has provided a comprehensive breakdown of expenses for both comfortable and modest lifestyles, for couples and singles. These expenditures support a healthy, vital and connected lifestyle in retirement.

How much superannuation do I need to retire at 67?

The ASFA Retirement Standard shows the lump sum amount needed by the average Australian to fund a comfortable and modest retirement (for both couples and singles) and the methodology behind the calculations. It is assumed that the retiree will draw down all their capital and receive a part Age Pension.

What is considered a modest and comfortable retirement lifestyle for younger retirees?

A modest retirement lifestyle is considered better than the Age Pension but still only allows for the basics. A comfortable retirement lifestyle enables an older, healthy retiree to be involved in a broad range of leisure and recreational activities and to have a good standard of living through the purchase of such things as; household goods, private health insurance, a reasonable car, good clothes, a range of electronic equipment, and domestic and occasionally international holiday travel.

Both these budgets assume that the retirees own their own home outright and are relatively healthy. The Retirement Standard also includes a separate modest lifestyle budget for private renters. Those renting privately do not have home ownership costs in the form of rates, insurance or repairs but they face higher housing costs in the form of rent. The budgets take into account the level of Rent Allowance available to those receiving the Age Pension.

Budgets for various households and living standards for those aged 65 to 84 (June quarter 2026)

	Comfortable lifestyle	Modest lifestyle	Modest lifestyle (renters)	Age Pension
Single	$56,166 a year	$36,548 a year	$51,418 a year	$31,223 including supplements
Couple	$78,998 a year	$52,690 a year	$69,376 a year	$47,070 including supplements
Health insurance	Top level private health insurance, doctor/specialist visits, pharmacy needs	Basic private health insurance, limited gap payments	Basic private health insurance, limited gap payments	No private health insurance
Internet	Fast reliable NBN, computer and iPhone with good data allowance/streaming services	Fast reliable NBN, computer and android mobile, modest mobile internet data allowance	Fast reliable NBN, computer and basic android mobile, modest internet data allowance	Very basic mobile and limited internet connectivity
Car	Own a reasonable car, car insurance and maintenance/upkeep	Owning a cheaper, older, more basic car	Owning a cheaper, older, more basic car	Limited budget to own, maintain or repair a car
Leisure activities	Regular leisure activities including club membership, cinema visits, exhibitions, dance/yoga classes	Infrequent leisure activities, occasional trip to the cinema	Infrequent leisure activities, occasional trip to the cinema	Rare trips to the cinema
Home repairs and renovations	Repairs, updates and maintenance to kitchen and bathroom appliances over 20 years	Limited budget for repairs, household appliances	Modest 1-2 bed apartment in middle to outer ring suburb	Struggle to pay for repairs, such as leaky roofs or plumbing problem
Haircuts	Regular professional haircuts	Budget haircuts	Budget haircuts	Less frequent haircuts or self haircuts
Air conditioning	Confidence to use air conditioning in the home, afford all utilities	Need to keep a close watch on all utility costs and sacrifice	Need to keep a close watch on all utility costs and sacrifice	Limited budget for home heating in winter
Restaurants	Occasional restaurant meals, home delivery meals, take away coffee	Limited meals out at low cost restaurants, or home delivery or take away	Limited meals out at low cost restaurants, or home delivery or take away	Only local club special meals or inexpensive take away
Clothing	Replace worn out clothing and footwear items, modest wardrobe updates	Limited budget to replace or update worn items	Limited budget to replace or update worn items	Very basic clothing and footwear budget
Travel	Annual domestic trip to visit family, one overseas trip every seven years	Annual domestic trip or a few short breaks	Annual domestic trip or a few short breaks	Occasional short break or day trip in your own city