06 Nov AFSA Retirement Standard September 2012

The latest Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) Retirement Standard shows that in the September quarter a couple looking to achieve a “comfortable” retirement needed to spend $56,236 a year, while those seeking a “modest” retirement lifestyle would need to spend $32,511 a year.

These figures are up by 1.7% and 2.3% respectively in the September quarter 2011.

The increase was partly due to a significant 15.3% increase in the price of electricity.

Another contributor to the increase in costs of retirement was the 1.9% increase in the price of food. The main components of this was a 10.5% increase in the price of vegetables and 9.7% increase in the price of fruit.

Modest lifestyle in retirement: Better than the Age Pension, but still only able to afford fairly basic activities.

Comfortable retirement lifestyle: Enabling an older, healthy retiree to be involved in a broad range of leisure and recreational activities and to have a good standard of living through the purchase of such things as: household goods, private health insurance, a reasonable car, good clothes, a range of electronic equipment, and domestic, and occasionally international, holiday travel.