Retirement Planning in Brisbane: What the Numbers Actually Require

Retirement planning in Brisbane comes down to three numbers: what your lifestyle costs each year, how much of that the Age Pension covers, and the super balance that fills the gap. The most widely used national benchmark, the ASFA Retirement Standard, puts a comfortable retirement at around $54,840 a year for a single person and $77,375 for a couple, funded by a super balance of $630,000 and $730,000, respectively. Both figures assume you own your home and draw a part Age Pension.

Those are useful starting points, not your answer. They are national averages built on a set of assumptions that may or may not match your life. This guide walks through where the numbers come from, how the Age Pension changes them, and how to work out the figure that actually applies to you in Brisbane.

What does a comfortable retirement actually cost?

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) publishes the Retirement Standard, which sets out what a modest and a comfortable lifestyle costs in retirement, and the super balance you need at 67 to fund each. It is the number most super funds and advisers reach for when someone asks how much is enough.

Here is where the figures stand as of 2026:

Lifestyle	Single, per year	Couple, per year	Single, lump sum	Couple, lump sum
Comfortable	~$54,840	~$77,375	$630,000	$730,000
Modest	Age Pension funded, mostly	Age Pension funded, mostly	$110,000	$120,000

A comfortable retirement, in ASFA’s definition, covers private health insurance, a reasonable car you can replace when needed, regular meals out, domestic holidays and an overseas trip every few years. A modest retirement covers the basics with little left for extras, and at that level, the Age Pension does most of the heavy lifting.

If you want to see the working behind these figures, our guide on how much super you need to retire comfortably breaks it down by age.

How the Age Pension changes your number

The ASFA targets only work because they assume a part Age Pension running alongside your super. So the next number to understand is how much the pension actually pays, and how much of it you will get.

As at 20 March 2026, the maximum Age Pension, including the pension and energy supplements, is $1,200.90 a fortnight for a single person, or about $31,223 a year. For a couple, it is $1,810.40 a fortnight combined, or about $47,070 a year. Those rates are indexed twice a year, in March and September.

The catch is that the pension is means-tested, and most retirees with a decent super balance receive a part pension rather than the full rate. Two tests apply, and Centrelink pays whichever produces the lower amount.

A quick illustration shows why this matters. Take a single homeowner with $630,000 in assessable assets, the ASFA comfortable target. That sits $308,500 above the full-pension threshold. The taper trims the pension by roughly $925 a fortnight, leaving about $7,000 a year in part Age Pension rather than the full $31,223. The bigger your balance, the smaller your pension, which is exactly why a more self-funded retirement needs a larger number than the headline ASFA figure suggests.

The income test also applies, with a free area of $218 a fortnight for a single and $380 combined for a couple, after which the pension reduces by 50 cents per dollar earned. Worth knowing too: deeming rates rose on 20 March 2026 for the first time in years, to 1.25 per cent on the first $64,200 of financial assets for a single ($106,200 for a couple) and 3.25 per cent above that. Higher deeming means Centrelink assumes more income from your investments, which can quietly reduce a part pension even when your actual returns have not changed.

How to work out your own number

The ASFA figures are a guidepost, not a personal plan. The honest version of the question is not “how much does the average person need,” it is “how much do I need, given my situation.”

A simple way to get a first estimate is to start with the income you want each year, subtract what you expect from the Age Pension, then size the super balance that covers the rest. A common rule of thumb is a safe drawdown rate of 4 to 5 per cent. The formula looks like this:

So if you want $60,000 a year and expect $15,000 from a part Age Pension, your super needs to cover the $45,000 gap. At a 5 per cent drawdown rate that points to about $900,000, and at a more conservative 4 per cent, closer to $1.1 million. These figures are illustrative, and they sit higher than the ASFA lump sums because ASFA assumes you draw your capital down to zero over retirement, while a preserve-capital approach needs more.

Several factors push your number up or down:

1. When you retire. The Age Pension does not start until 67. Retire at 60 and you self-fund every year in between, which can add hundreds of thousands to the balance you need. If you are easing out of full-time work, a transition to retirement strategy can bridge the gap.
2. Whether you own your home. ASFA assumes you do. Carry a mortgage or pay rent at 67, and your annual costs jump well above the homeowner figures.
3. How long you live. A 67-year-old today can reasonably plan for 20 years or more in retirement. Underestimating longevity is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make.
4. The lifestyle you actually want. Regular overseas travel, a holiday home or supporting adult children all sit above the comfortable benchmark.

What is different about retiring in Brisbane

ASFA publishes one national standard. There is no separate Brisbane figure, so anyone who tells you retirement planning in Brisbane requires a specific local number is guessing. What does change locally is the set of assumptions behind the national figure.

The most important is home ownership. The ASFA targets assume you own your home outright by 67, and that single assumption is the difference between needing the headline figure and needing tens of thousands more each year. Brisbane housing has historically sat below Sydney and Melbourne, which means a larger share of Brisbane retirees reach 67, owning their home, closer to the homeowner benchmark rather than the much higher renter figure.

Local running costs still need a real read. South East Queensland council rates, energy and water, transport and private health cover all feed into your annual budget, and they shift over time. The point is not to apply a Brisbane discount or premium to the national number, but to build your annual figure from your actual costs rather than an average.

This is the work our Brisbane financial advisers do from the Milton office: take the national benchmarks and rebuild them around your home, your timeline and the life you want. Direct Wealth has been recognised nationally for straightforward, practical advice, and that is the lens we bring to retirement planning, turning a general number into one that fits you.

The gaps that blow up the number

Most retirement shortfalls do not come from getting the ASFA figure wrong. They come from costs the benchmark never included. The ones to plan for:

• A mortgage still owing at 67. Clearing it with a lump sum from super can put a serious dent in the balance meant to fund your retirement.
• Renting in retirement. Rent is an ongoing cost that the homeowner benchmark does not carry, and it can add a large amount to your annual needs.
• Retiring early. Every year before 67 is fully self-funded, with no Age Pension to lean on.
• Supporting adult children. Helping with a deposit or ongoing costs is increasingly common, and it rarely appears in a standard budget.
• Big one-off costs. A new car, home repairs, dental work or major medical expenses do not arrive on a neat weekly schedule.

How your money is invested matters here, too. The balance you retire with has to keep working through a retirement that can last decades, which is where smart retirement investments and the right drawdown strategy make a real difference to how long it lasts.

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