Retirement
‘Magic number’ for savings key to wealth planning
Australians often skip over a simple equation in their wealth planning, and given most are not on track for a comfortable retirement, one financial adviser is urging investors to do the maths.
‘Magic number’ for savings key to wealth planning
Australians often skip over a simple equation in their wealth planning, and given most are not on track for a comfortable retirement, one financial adviser is urging investors to do the maths.
According to the retirement standard set by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), the amount of money required for a ‘comfortable retirement’ is $60,042 a year for couples and $42,953 for singles.
Statistics from the Melbourne Institute that 53 per cent of couples and 22 per cent of single people are on track for a comfortable retirement, meaning a substantial portion of the population will have a moderate or limited budget in retirement.
According to Boutique Advisers’ Katie McDonald, some basic maths in the formative stages of a budget helps the bulk of her clients get on track.
“Now is the time to act and work out your magic number; in simple terms look at what your income is now, subtract your main debt and what’s left is the magic number you’ll need to maintain your current lifestyle,” she said.
“It’s not as difficult to achieve as many people think and there are some great new government initiatives out there to help you catch-up and boost your super fund.”
This budgeting tool doesn’t just apply to those in the accumulation stage of wealth. Where an investor has a few decent working years left, it’s not too late to turn around their future finances, even in their 50s.
“In fact, your 50s is a great time to boost your retirement nest egg as you’re often at your peak earning capacity and added expenses like childcare fees will have eased,” Ms McDonald said.
RELATED ARTICLES
Superannuation
Industry leaders weigh in on concessional super tax as Budget confirms $55bn investment
Changes to the taxation of superannuation earnings and contributions have drawn mixed responses from financial and payroll sector leaders, as the Federal Budget confirms over $55 billion in ...Read more
Superannuation
Call for indexation on super tax cap as $3m threshold draws criticism
A senior executive in the superannuation technology sector has criticised the Federal Government for failing to index the proposed $3 million superannuation tax cap, arguing the measure will unfairly ...Read more
Superannuation
Rest members back calls for fairer superannuation rules ahead of Federal Budget
Rest has called on the Federal Government to implement superannuation reforms aimed at improving fairness across the system, after member survey results showed strong support for a range of proposed ...Read more
Superannuation
Rest welcomes progress on ‘Payday Super’ reform
Rest, one of Australia’s largest profit-to-member superannuation funds, has welcomed the Australian Government’s release of draft ‘Payday Super’ legislation, which aims to align Superannuation ...Read more
Superannuation
SuperAPI and Humanforce partner to improve superannuation compliance for one million Australians
Superannuation engagement platform SuperAPI has partnered with human capital management provider Humanforce to streamline payroll and superannuation contributions for more than one million Australian ...Read more
Superannuation
Rest super fund reports 11.19 per cent return for 2024
Rest superannuation fund delivered an 11.19 per cent return in its MySuper Growth investment option for calendar year 2024, marking two consecutive years of positive returns. Read more
Superannuation
Actuaries propose three-tier superannuation tax reform
The Actuaries Institute has outlined major reforms to Australia's $4.1 trillion superannuation system, proposing uniform tax rates and new levies on high retirement withdrawals. Read more
Superannuation
Survey reveals Australians' reliance on superannuation for retirement
A new survey by AustralianSuper has found that only 32% of Australians believe they could save for retirement without compulsory superannuation. Read more
Superannuation
Industry leaders weigh in on concessional super tax as Budget confirms $55bn investment
Changes to the taxation of superannuation earnings and contributions have drawn mixed responses from financial and payroll sector leaders, as the Federal Budget confirms over $55 billion in ...Read more
Superannuation
Call for indexation on super tax cap as $3m threshold draws criticism
A senior executive in the superannuation technology sector has criticised the Federal Government for failing to index the proposed $3 million superannuation tax cap, arguing the measure will unfairly ...Read more
Superannuation
Rest members back calls for fairer superannuation rules ahead of Federal Budget
Rest has called on the Federal Government to implement superannuation reforms aimed at improving fairness across the system, after member survey results showed strong support for a range of proposed ...Read more
Superannuation
Rest welcomes progress on ‘Payday Super’ reform
Rest, one of Australia’s largest profit-to-member superannuation funds, has welcomed the Australian Government’s release of draft ‘Payday Super’ legislation, which aims to align Superannuation ...Read more
Superannuation
SuperAPI and Humanforce partner to improve superannuation compliance for one million Australians
Superannuation engagement platform SuperAPI has partnered with human capital management provider Humanforce to streamline payroll and superannuation contributions for more than one million Australian ...Read more
Superannuation
Rest super fund reports 11.19 per cent return for 2024
Rest superannuation fund delivered an 11.19 per cent return in its MySuper Growth investment option for calendar year 2024, marking two consecutive years of positive returns. Read more
Superannuation
Actuaries propose three-tier superannuation tax reform
The Actuaries Institute has outlined major reforms to Australia's $4.1 trillion superannuation system, proposing uniform tax rates and new levies on high retirement withdrawals. Read more
Superannuation
Survey reveals Australians' reliance on superannuation for retirement
A new survey by AustralianSuper has found that only 32% of Australians believe they could save for retirement without compulsory superannuation. Read more
