{"id":299141,"date":"2026-02-24T04:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T04:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/299141\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T04:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T04:04:09","slug":"super-needed-for-comfortable-retirement-hits-record-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/299141\/","title":{"rendered":"Super needed for ‘comfortable’ retirement hits record levels"},"content":{"rendered":"

The super<\/a> balance needed for a comfortable retirement has hit a new record high – and that’s for people who already own their own home.<\/p>\n

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) said today that home-owning singles could now expect to need a super fund of $630,000 (up from $595,000) at \ufeffa retirement age of 67, compared to $730,000 (up from $690,000) for couples.<\/p>\n

It’s the first time ASFA’s lump sum figures have increased in three years.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"\"\/Australians need more super than ever to enjoy a comfortable retirement. (Getty)<\/p>\n

Year-to-year, ASFA said, that broke down to an annual budget of $77,375 for couples and $54,840 for singles.\ufeff<\/p>\n

The lump sums required for a “modest retirement” have also increased to $110,000 for singles and $120,000 for couples, up from the previous $100,000 for both groups.<\/p>\n

Retirees have faced major cost-of-living increases, including electricity (up 21.5 per cent), coffee and tea (up 15.3 per cent), and beef (up 10.8 per cent).\ufeff<\/p>\n

Higher deeming rates and the pension falling behind real cost increases mean retirees are increasingly forced to rely on their super day-to-day.\ufeff<\/p>\n

On March 20, the lower deeming rate will rise to 1.25 per cent (from 0.75 per cent) for financial assets under $64,200 for singles and $106,200 for couples.<\/p>\n

The upper rate will rise from 2.75 per cent to 3.25 per cent for assets over the same thresholds.<\/p>\n

\"beanTea and coffee costs are surging. (Getty)<\/p>\n

These rates were last adjusted in September 2025, which ended a five-year pandemic-era freeze where rates sat at 0.25 per cent and 2.25 per cent respectively.<\/p>\n

“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,” ASFA chief executive Mary Delahunty said.<\/p>\n

“This shifts more of a retiree’s budget towards reliance on super rather than Centrelink.”\ufeff<\/p>\n

However, while cost expectations are at a record high, ASFA said super funds were as well.<\/p>\n

The average balanced fund delivered a 10.2 per cent annual compound rate of return over the last three years, while the superannuation guarantee has reached 12 per cent.<\/p>\n

A 30-year-old with $30,000 in super and earning $80,000 is on track to retire with $645,000.<\/p>\n

“Retirees’ living costs have risen, and support from the age pension has not kept pace with this rise,” Delahunty said.<\/p>\n

“This means retirees need higher super savings to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.<\/p>\n

“The good news is that Australians are reaching retirement with larger super balances than ever before.”<\/p>\n

To be on track for ASFA’s “comfortable standard” of $630,000 in super at retirement, Australians would aim to have the following super balances at each respective age milestone.<\/p>\n

ASFA’s figures assume future pre-tax income of $65,000 a year which keeps track with inflation:<\/p>\n

30 years: $66,50040 years: $168,00050 years: $296,00055 years: $377,00060 years: $469,00065 years: $571,000<\/p>\n

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The super balance needed for a comfortable retirement has hit a new record high – and that’s for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[138,246,111,139,69,244,245],"class_list":{"0":"post-299141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-personal-finance","14":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}