Based on current average annual returns, a couple would need around $800,000 in super and/or savings to live comfortably in retirement if you were to retire today.
A single person would need close to $600,000 and in both cases, that's assuming that they own their homes outright.
Unfortunately, the reality is that only 10% of Australians have more than $100,000 in their super accounts today with the current average mean balance of all workers aged 15 to 65 of $87,000 for men and $52,300 for women.
MILLIONS OF 35-44 YEAR OLDS WILL STRUGGLE IN RETIREMENT
To quote from a 2007 report by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia;
"On the basis of the current average superannuation balance and average income of those aged 35 to 44 and the assumption of only compulsory superannuation contributions being made, the average retirement superannuation payout at age 60 for a male currently aged 35 to 44 would be $183,000, while for a female it would only be $93,000."
Based on these figures an average 35-44 year old couple would be $550,000 short if they were to retire today.
The sobering thought however, is that these figures are all based in today's values. So if you were in the 35-44 age bracket and you were to retire in say around 30 to 40 years time, the amounts you'd need would be closer to $2.5 million to $3 million to account for inflation and cost of living by the mid 21st century.
One thing is certain, clearly many Australians aren’t thinking about their future needs and if they do, they don’t know what to do about it and what is available to them.