Comfortable retirement targets jump tens of thousands to new high

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

25 February 2026

The latest Association of Super Funds of Australia (ASFA) figures of superannuation savings required to have a comfortable retirement have reached new all-time highs and stunned Australians, climbing by $35,000 and $40,000 for singles and couples respectively.

The super balances needed for homeowners aged 67 intending to retire comfortably now sit at $630,000 for singles and $730,000 for couples, increasing from $595,000 and $690,000 from the previous quarter.

According to the latest update to the ASFA Retirement Standard, annual comfortable retirement budgets for singles now sit at $54,840 and $77,375 for couples, with electricity prices (up 21.5 per cent), coffee and tea (15.3 per cent) and beef (10.8 per cent) further squeezing budgets.

ASFA chief executive, Mary Delahunty, said while the figures seem daunting, the overall long-term outlook remains positive given the average balanced fund returned 10.2 per cent over the last three years and the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) is now at 12 per cent.

“Retiree’s living costs have risen, and support from the Age Pension has not kept pace with this rise. This means retirees need higher super savings to maintain a comfortable lifestyle,” she said.

“The good news is that Australians are reaching retirement with larger super balances than ever before. The super system is working really well, securing Australians’ retirements.

“That’s because super funds have delivered exceptional returns in the last few years. The average balanced fund returned 9.9 per cent in 2023, 11.4 per cent in 2024, and 9.3 per cent in 2025. That’s cumulative growth of nearly 35 per cent over three years, well ahead of inflation.

“We also have the Superannuation Guarantee that has been steadily rising since 2020 and is now at 12%.

“Australia’s super system is built on a bargain: you pay a concessional tax rates if you save part of your income for retirement. That bargain is working exactly as it is supposed to, incentivising Australians to save for their own retirements and reducing reliance on Government welfare payments.”

Delahunty noted that the lump sum figures were revised to such higher amounts due to the Age Pension not keeping up with retirees’ cost of living and the recently announced hike in deeming rates – the assumed rates of return applied to financial assets when assessing Age Pension eligibility – to 1.25 per cent for the lower rate and 3.25 per cent for the upper rate.

“The Age Pension has not kept pace with the actual cost increases retirees face, particularly for essential goods and services,” she said.

“Costs in the categories that retirees tend to spend most on have risen faster than general consumer price inflation. So that means even though the Age Pension is indexed, a greater burden is placed on retirees’ personal super savings.

“When deeming rates rise, a person’s assessed income can increase even if their actual investment returns have not, which can reduce their Age Pension. This shifts more of a retiree’s budget towards reliance on super rather than Centrelink.”