Have you heard of the FIRE movement? It’s a type of retirement planning and stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. It focuses on extreme savings and aggressive investing to generate roughly 25 times your annual expenses allowing you to retire early. It’s a great sentiment, but understandably can be a tricky thing to achieve.
Superannuation is one fantastic way to save for your retirement. Most Australians now have savings in their super funds (whether retail, industry or SMSF) and are on their way to saving for their retirement.
How much does the average Australian have in their super balance?
Current stats (which are from around 2024) shows the following average balances for men and women at age 60-64:
(Source: ASFA, 2024)
That sounds like a lot — but when you consider a retirement spanning 20–30 years, it might fall short. The ASFA Retirement Standard suggests singles need around $595,000 and couples $690,000 to retire comfortably. And that’s today’s dollars — inflation will only push those targets higher. It also assumes a level of comfort that may not be your current lifestyle which is important to consider too.
Not sure if you’re on track? Check out the retirement planner online here:
We would also recommend chatting with a financial advisor. We have some great people as part of our Entourage who can help with this, let me know if you’d like an introduction to someone we trust.
Why are we talking about this?
Essentially, the earlier you start planning for your retirement, the more you are likely to have available to you when you’re ready to stop working. Too many people hit their 50’s and 60’s and realise their super isn’t enough and they are going to have to keep working. And here’s the reality: super alone may not get you there.
Tips to boost your super balance and overall wealth, consider:
- Making extra concessional or non-concessional contributions
- Investing outside of super
- Review your fund performance and fees
- Get financial advice to structure your long-term strategy
Actions to take:
- Review your current super balance
- Use the calculator to project your retirement savings
- Speak to a financial planner and broker to explore additional investing strategies
- Start early: time in the market really matters
How can Entourage Finance and Property help?
Whether inside (via a Self-Managed Super Fund) or outside of super, many Australians utilise property investment as a way of growing their wealth to complement their super investments which are usually cash and share heavy. Our mortgage brokers can assist with helping you understand your potential borrowing power for an investment property, either personally or in a self-managed super fund, and our property team are experts at helping find and purchase investment grade property.
If property investment is something you’re considering as part of your long term wealth accumulation strategy, get in touch. We can help run the numbers to see what’s possible.