Retirement on target?

With the cost of living going up each year, it’s hard to imagine how much you’ll need for your retirement.

But, research by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) suggests that if you’re aiming for a comfortable lifestyle in retirement you’ll need to save about $640,000 for a couple or $545,000 for a single person.

And, it would be even more if you want to enjoy some of the finer things in life.

So what will this amount afford you in retirement?

To find out, use the Bridges Retirement Lifestyle Calculator. See how you measure up and whether you’re on target to live the retirement you want.

The Bridges Retirement Lifestyle Calculator is an online tool that shows you if your savings, super and investment strategy are on target to meet the retirement lifestyle you want. You can view and download your results and see how financial advice can help you achieve your retirement goals.

• Go to bridges.com.au/retirementlifestyle

Step 1 – About you

Enter some information about yourself including your income and super balance. Don’t worry, we won’t keep or share any of your personal information.

Step 2 – Set your ideal lifestyle

Select the level of comfort you would like for your home, food, leisure, transport and health care. This step includes an explanation of the different comfort levels and their associated goods or services.

For instance, do you want to enjoy regular holidays? Do you want to update the kitchen or bathroom or your entire house? Eat out or entertain family and friends at home? How about private health insurance and maintaining a car?

Based on your selections, you’ll be placed on a lifestyle scale from low (modest) to high (comfortable plus). This will then be compared to the information you provided in Step 1 – so you can see if you’re likely to have enough money when you retire to live your ideal retirement lifestyle.

Step 3 – View and download your results

View and download your personalised results including tips on how you could increase your retirement savings and how a financial planner can help.

• If you have any questions please contact the Kothes Accounting Group’s Financial Planning Partner Bridges Bega on (02) 6491 6491. You can also visit our Financial Planning section on our website HERE.