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The Barefoot Investor Reveals How Much Super You REALLY Need to Retire, as Anthony Albanese Reveals Major System Changes
- Single Australians should have $302,000 in retirement
- Couples should aim for $402,000 for a comfortable retirement
Finance guru Scott Pape has revealed that Australians only need around half their recommended retirement amount when they retire, if they own their own home and are willing to work one day every fortnight.
The Australian Pension Funds Association says singles need around $545,000 when they quit and couples $640,000, but Pape disagrees.
‘The people who calculate the ASFA figure are the superfund lobby. It’s a bit like asking old Dr. Kellogg, ‘What is the most important meal of the day?’ (Breakfast of course!)’ he said.
The Barefoot Investor author said it’s more realistic to aim for Super Consumers Australia’s much more achievable figure of $302,000 for singles and $402,000 for couples.
This is because the average superbalance at retirement is $250,000 for men and $200,000 for women.
According to barefoot investor, Scott Pape (pictured), single Australians should have $302,000, while couples should aim for $402,000 for a comfortable retirement.
But if you have a little less, it shouldn’t be a problem according to Mr. Pape.
“If you own your own home, receive an old-age pension, and are willing to do a little paid work, you could retire comfortably on as little as $250,000,” he said in his website.
“I encourage retirees to continue working at least one day every fortnight to supplement their income.”
Mr. Pape’s analysis comes on the same day that Anthony Albanese announced major changes to Australia’s retirement system.
Australians with super balances of more than $3 million will no longer get generous tax breaks under a new plan announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Taxpayers can voluntarily deposit up to $27,500 a year into their grocery store and pay a low concessional tax rate of just 15 percent if they earn up to $250,000 a year.
But Albanese confirmed on Tuesday that it wants to double that tax rate to 30 per cent for Australians with more than $3 million in their super, starting July 1, 2025.
That affects about 80,000 people — the top 0.5 percent of super savers — and would save the federal budget about $2 billion a year.
The other 99.5 percent of Australians would continue to receive the “same generous tax breaks”, meaning the 15 percent prime rate would remain unchanged for them.
The graph showed a total of 411,128 retirement funds with a balance of more than $1 million. A retirement fund accumulated a staggering $544 million (pictured)
Anthony Albanese announced Tuesday that, from mid-2025, Australians with more than $3 million will receive a doubled tax of 30 per cent.
The change will not take effect until after the next elections, scheduled for mid-2025.
The prime minister argued that the plan did not change the fundamentals of the retirement system and was a “major reform”.
He pointed to figures showing that 17 Australians have more than $100 million in their retirement savings accounts, and one person had more than $400 million in their retirement account.
“It’s hard to argue that those levels refer to actual retirement income, which is what retirement is for,” Albanese said.
“Most Australians would agree that this is not what retirement is for.
‘It’s for people’s retirement income.’