It’s the question I’m asked more than any other — and the honest answer is the one nobody wants to hear. The good news? It’s almost always friendlier than the scary number in your head.
“How much do I need to retire?” I get asked this more than anything else, and I understand why. There’s a lot of noise out there, and most of it is designed to make you feel like you’re behind. You’ve seen the headlines: you need a million dollars, you’ll run out of money, you’ll be living on baked beans by seventy. It’s enough to put anyone off opening their super statement.
So let me give you the honest answer — the one I give every client who asks. It depends. I know that’s not the neat figure you were hoping for. But stay with me, because once you see what it depends on, the whole thing gets a lot less frightening.
Ignore the million-dollar myth
Somewhere along the way, a million dollars became the magic number everyone fixates on. For most people, it simply isn’t true — and believing it can do real harm.
The most widely used guide in Australia comes from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA). As of early 2026, it reckons a single person who owns their home needs around $630,000 in super for a “comfortable” retirement, and a couple around $730,000. Not a million. And that’s for comfortable — private health cover, a decent car, the odd trip away, meals out now and then.
Yet more than half of younger Australians are convinced they’ll need over a million. They won’t — not for the life most people actually want. Chasing a number far bigger than you need can mean working years longer than you ever had to.
The Age Pension does more heavy lifting than you’d think
Here’s the bit the scary headlines leave out. The Age Pension isn’t loose change. For a couple on the full rate it’s worth roughly $45,000 a year, and for a single, around $30,000 — paid for life, indexed to keep up with prices, and topped up with concessions on everything from medicines to council rates.
Most retirees I work with receive at least a part pension, and it quietly becomes the backbone of their income. Your super doesn’t have to carry the whole load on its own. It works alongside the pension, not instead of it. (Those pension figures shift with indexation, so treat them as a guide, not gospel.)
Your number is about your life, not a league table
The benchmarks are a handy starting point, but they’re an average. You are not an average.
What you need comes down to the life you actually want. Do you dream of travelling, or are you a homebody? Will you help the grandkids, or downsize and free up some cash? Two couples with identical super can need completely different amounts, because they want completely different things.
And one thing matters more than almost anything else: whether you own your home. A rent or mortgage bill in retirement changes the maths entirely. Sort that out, and your number drops dramatically.
A simpler way to work it out
Forget the magic number. Here’s how I’d think about it instead:
- Start with the life. Roughly what would you like to spend each year to live the way you want? Be honest, not heroic.
- Add up what’s coming in. Your super, the Age Pension you’re likely to get, and anything else — a little part-time work, an investment, some rent.
- Find the gap. The difference between the two is the bit your savings need to cover. That’s your real number — and it’s almost always smaller and friendlier than the headline figure.
Don’t let a big number stop you living
The real danger isn’t aiming too low. In my experience it’s the opposite. People get so frightened by a figure they read somewhere that they keep working long after they could have stopped — or they never sit down to plan at all, because they’ve quietly decided it’s hopeless.
It usually isn’t. More often than not, when we actually run the numbers, people are in far better shape than they feared, and could have retired sooner.
You don’t need a million dollars. You need a plan built around your life. Work out your number, not someone else’s, and the question that’s been keeping you up at night tends to answer itself.
Want to put real numbers to it? You can play with the free calculators at retirementcalculators.com.au, or have a no-obligation phone chat and we’ll help you work out your own number.
About the Author
Mary Benton is a seasoned retirement advisor with a wealth of experience and qualifications to guide you towards financial security and peace of mind.
Mary Benton brings decades of experience in retirement planning and financial management to the table. As a qualified financial planner and retirement specialist, Mary has helped countless individuals and couples navigate the complexities of retirement planning with confidence and clarity.
