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Under these assumptions, $750,000 in super alone runs out before age 92 on the comfortable single budget — the gap narrows once the Age Pension is counted from 67. This is a modelled, indicative projection under stated assumptions — a 5% investment return, 2.5% inflation, the ASFA comfortable budget and homeowner status — never a definitive claim that you can or cannot retire.
Figures are modelled from age 55, at a 2.5% real return (5% investment return minus 2.5% inflation), against the ASFA Retirement Standard budgets for a homeowner. Not a prediction, and not financial advice.
Not under standard rules. Preservation age is 60 for everyone born after 30 June 1964, and 55 is below it. Only limited exceptions — severe financial hardship, compassionate grounds, or terminal illness — allow earlier access. This scenario models the balance as if accessible from 55; in practice most people in this position plan to live on savings or other income until 60.
Age Pension eligibility starts at 67, so retiring at 55 means 12 years with no means-tested pension income at all — every dollar of spending in that stretch has to come from super or savings. From 67 onward, the means test kicks in and entitlement rises as the balance falls, the same way it does on the balance-only pages.
Assuming super is the only assessable asset, no other income, and the balance is unchanged from today. The full rate is $31,223 a year for a single and $47,070 for a couple.
Spending $55,923 a year — the comfortable single budget — from age 55, $750,000 funds this spending for 24 years with the Age Pension counted, against 17 years from super alone — 7 years longer.
A couple spending $78,566 a year from the same $750,000, retiring at 55, still falls short of this spending after 12 years even with the Age Pension counted.
Projected from age 55 to 92 at the same 5% return and 2.5% inflation used above, with the means test re-assessed every year as the balance changes.
Work out your own entitlement — the assets test is usually what decides it — or check with Services Australia.
A 2.5% real return on $750,000 earns about $18,750 a year, so any budget below that is self-sustaining and anything above it draws the balance down. These figures exclude the Age Pension.
| Retirement budget | Annual spend | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Modest, singleCovers the basics with few extras — a modest retirement is only a little above the Age Pension. | $36,434 | 30 years |
| Modest, coupleThe same basics-only budget for a couple sharing costs. | $52,473 | 18 years |
| Comfortable, singlePrivate health cover, a reasonable car, domestic holidays and regular leisure. | $55,923 | 17 years |
| Comfortable, coupleThe benchmark most people picture when they think of a good retirement. | $78,566 | 12 years |
The budgets above assume you own your home outright, which is how ASFA publishes its headline figures. Renting adds roughly $14,730 a year to a modest single budget.
| Renting in retirement | Annual spend | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Modest, single, rentingA basics-only budget while paying rent costs nearly as much as a comfortable retirement with no mortgage. | $51,164 | 19 years |
| Modest, couple, rentingThe renting equivalent for a couple. | $69,002 | 13 years |
Change the balance, retirement age, drawdown, return and inflation and see the balance-over-time chart.
This is a modelled projection, not advice, and the indicative answer depends heavily on your spending. On the ASFA comfortable single budget — $55,923 a year — $750,000 is modelled to last about 17 years from age 55, at a 5% investment return and 2.5% inflation, before counting the Age Pension. You cannot access super at this age under standard rules — preservation age is 60 for anyone born after 30 June 1964, so this scenario assumes an early-access exception or a bridge from other savings.
Preservation age is 60 for everyone born after 30 June 1964. Retiring at 55 is below that, so under standard rules super is not accessible yet — only limited exceptions (severe financial hardship, compassionate grounds, terminal illness) allow earlier access. Most people modelling retirement at 55 are planning to live on savings or other income until super becomes available at 60.
Retiring at 55 means funding 12 years entirely from super and savings before Age Pension eligibility at 67. There is no means-tested pension income during that gap — the modelled projection has to cover the full comfortable-single budget of $55,923 a year from $750,000 alone until age 67. From 67, $750,000 funds this spending for 24 years with the Age Pension counted, against 17 years from super alone — 7 years longer.
Yes, materially. A couple sharing $750,000 spends less per person on the ASFA comfortable couple budget ($78,566 a year combined) than two singles would separately, and each partner reaching Age Pension age brings in an entitlement (up to $47,070 a year combined at the full rate) that a single retiree does not get to split. From 55, a couple on the comfortable couple budget from the same $750,000 still falls short of this spending after 12 years even with the Age Pension counted.
The balance and its investment growth do not change with age, but two things do: how many years the money has to stretch, and the length of the gap before the Age Pension. Retiring later shortens both — less time to fund alone, and a shorter or nonexistent pre-pension gap. Retiring earlier lengthens both. Compare this same $750,000 at age 60 or 67 below.
Once you start an account-based (allocated) pension you must withdraw a legislated minimum each year, set by your age under Schedule 7 of the SIS Regulations — 4% under 65, rising in steps to 14% from 95. Retiring at 55 sits in the lowest 4% bracket at the start, and the rate rises automatically as you age, applied to your balance at 1 July each year.
No — renting adds roughly $14,730 a year to a modest single budget compared with owning outright. On $750,000 from age 55, that shortens a modest single retirement from about 30 years to about 19 years. Housing status is the single biggest variable in any retirement budget, at any age.
See how retiring earlier or later changes the answer for the same $750,000.
See how a bigger or smaller balance changes the answer for retiring at 55.
ATO rates checked against official sources — verified 12 August 2026
Estimates only. Not financial or tax advice. Full disclaimer for your rights and our limitations of liability.
Rates and thresholds last updated for the 2026–27 financial year.