Retirement
Reality check: We’ll run out of super within 5 years
The average saver will spend their entire super within five years, leaving them dependent on the age pension for more than 12 years, new research has warned.
Reality check: We’ll run out of super within 5 years
The average saver will spend their entire super within five years, leaving them dependent on the age pension for more than 12 years, new research has warned.

The secret to living the desired retirement lifestyle could be to live fast and die young, new research from AMP has revealed.
“Most of us want to retire early and we want to be comfortable. However, with life expectancy continuing to rise, we are potentially leaving ourselves short of cash in our retirement years,” financial adviser Dianne Charman said.
“The research suggests many Australians are facing the prospect of having to push out their retirement plans by at least 10 years.”
The findings, based on commissioned research and data gathered from AMP’s retirement simulator, revealed that the average Australian man who retires at 65 will have a super shortage of 11.9 years, while women, thanks to their extended life expectancy, will have a super shortage of 14.1 years.

Women, however, have a greater understanding that they will likely be left short, with 71 per cent saying they’re worried about having enough money in retirement, compared with just 50 per cent of men.
“The reality is that today we need to make our earnings from 40 to 50 years in the workforce, extend across 80 to 90 years of living,” Ms Charman said, commenting on the “worrying” gap between expectation and reality.
“It’s important to think about your retirement goals and whether your super contributions will fund the retirement you want early on in life. Planning early will go a long way towards bridging the super shortage between the retirement we want and the one facing us.”
While 34-44-year-olds are most likely to be low on cash if they retire at 65, with a super shortage of 13.6 years, 81 per cent of 25-34-year-olds are the most worried. This could be why this younger age group actually has one of the lowest super shortages (12.1 years).
However, if all these age groups decided to retire at 75 rather than 65, the super shortages shorten significantly, with those aged 55-64 actually receiving two years more super than they may need, based on average life expectancy.

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