Superannuation figure you need to retire and live a ‘comfortable’ life and what $545k will get you

The ‘terrifying’ figure it takes to live a ‘comfortable’ life in retirement has been revealed as Australians grow increasingly fearful that they don’t have enough to retire.

Single Australians need a minimum of $545,000, while couples need a minimum of $640,000 in savings, according to the Association of Super Funds Australia (ASFA).

ASFA states that a “comfortable” retirement means you can afford private health insurance, TV and streaming services, a reliable car, home repairs, regular trips to restaurants and the cinema, and professional haircuts.

The data showed that retirees with at least $545,000 in savings can enjoy one domestic trip per year and one overseas trip every seven years.

By comparison, retirees who can afford only a “modest” retirement with $70,000 in savings can expect a domestic trip and a “few short breaks” each year.

A ‘modest’ pension means ‘little’ cinema visits and takeaway meals, a limited budget for home repairs and a cheaper and older car.

For retirees at the government’s Aged Pension, short breaks are reduced to a day trip in their own town with only ‘special local club meals’ and cheap takeaway meals in their limited budget.

The ASFA data is based on assumptions that retirees fully own their homes and are relatively healthy.

Perth investor Natasha Etschmannn said it was “pretty terrifying” that single Aussies needed $545,000 to retire comfortably.

The account manager, who regularly posts videos with tips on saving and investing money, took to TikTok to share ASFA’s spending summary.

“This is a pretty scary number for a single person if your partner dies and you don’t own your own home either,” she said.

The numbers come as a growing number of Aussies become increasingly fearful that they won’t have enough pension to retire.

New research has found that workers typically believe they will be $200,000 short, and data from AMP shows that 70 percent of women are concerned about insufficient retirement savings, compared with 56 percent of men.

The AMP report found that women aged 50 to 59 were particularly concerned about higher living costs.

AMP found that Australians typically believed they needed $600,000 to retire, but expected to have only $400,000 saved (stock image)

Rising inflation and pressure on the cost of living are fueling retirement concerns, leading to fears that Aussies are “unnecessarily endangering quality of life.”

AMP found that Australians typically thought they needed $600,000 to retire, but expected to have only $400,000 saved.

The most recent data from the Australian tax office shows that people aged 65 to 69 had an average pension balance of $383,367.

That represents an average deficit of $151,633 for Aussies at or approaching retirement age, based on the recommended retirement balance.

Bestselling author Scott Pape, known as the Barefoot Investor, is a critic of the pension industry’s retirement goals.

A growing number of Aussies are increasingly concerned that they don’t have enough pension to retire – needing $545,000 to retire ‘comfortably’ (stock image)

“The superindustry has played for far too long for the millionaires in the membership ranks,” Pape told his followers last month.

Pape has instead endorsed a recommendation from Super Consumers Australia, which believes $258,000 is enough for someone who has paid off their house.

The IRS data showed average retirement balances, across all adult age groups, of $145,388.

Those in the 55 to 59 age bracket had an average balance of $246,771, compared with $108,217 for those ages 40 to 44 and $323,871 for those ages 60 to 64.

The Reserve Bank of Australia expects inflation to reach a 32-year high of 7.75 percent in 2022, which is bad news for households already battling a rising cost of living.