Take these 5 steps to plan for retirement

These 5 smart steps can help you prepare for your best retirement. 

Almost 1 in 5 working Australians plan to retire in the next 10 years.¹

These 5 steps, that you can take now, can help you plan for the lifestyle you want in retirement. 

1. When can you access your super?

Know the rules about when you can access the money you’ve saved to spend in retirement. Your super generally isn’t available until you are either:

• age 60 and permanently retired or leave your employer
• over 65 years old.

2. How much super do you need?

How much super you might need depends on your personal circumstances and the lifestyle you want in retirement. There are easy ways to help you work out how much money you may need in retirement, and how much you're on track to receive.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australian (ASFA) puts together a Retirement Standard that can help. It shows how much money you’ll need to fund either a comfortable or modest standard of living in retirement. It also details the breakdown on what you might spend money on.

These are the June 2024 quarter Retirement Standard figures for couples and singles aged 65-84 who own their own home.

Source: ASFA Retirement Standard, June 2024 quarter

3. Will you be eligible for government benefits?

As well as your super, you might qualify for the Age Pension or other government benefits. To be eligible for the Age Pension you must meet the age and residency requirements and pass the income and asset test.

You may be able to combine the Age Pension with your super savings in retirement.

4. Might you continue to work in retirement?

It’s up to you to decide when you retire. There’s an option to start using your super without stopping work entirely, as a rising number of Australians aged more than 65 years are doing.²

If you want to access some of your super before you retire, a Transition to Retirement Income account (TTR) is something to consider.

If you’re old enough to access your super but you’re not retiring yet, a TTR can give flexibility to top up your take home pay so you can work less. It can also help you keep growing your super in a tax-effective way.

5. Get help to retire well, with confidence

Get help planning your retirement at our regular Retirement Essentials seminars.

You can join us in-person or online for our retirement seminars where our experts will unpack the strategies you'll need. These sessions will give you simple steps to help you get the most out of your super and take charge of your future.

1. Survey of 1000 Australians carried out by IPSOS on behalf of Australian Retirement Trust, September to November 2023
2. ASFA, February 2021, Rethinking retirement: The impact of demographic change and the pandemic on retirement planning in the 2020s, at superannuation.asn.au