Although you may be in line for a healthy end-of-year refund, it can give you a false sense of security about the future.
In order to achieve a comfortable standard of living in retirement, an individual requires a minimum super balance of around $545,000 and a couple around $645,000.
Currently less than 20% of single Australians and 30% of couples (aged over 65) are hitting those marks.
The harsh reality for many of us is that unless we start making extra contributions to our super, we’ll be in the same boat too.
But there is an easy fix without putting a strain on the household budget, says the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).
To help you crunch the numbers, the ASFA has teamed with Money magazine to launch Super Booster Day, an initiative urging all Australians to “make a pledge” at superboosterday.com.au in order to top up their super.
There you’ll find a slew of handy tools, calculators and inspiring videos to help you see where you’re headed, and what you need to do today to get the standard of living you’re after in retirement.
“With a shortfall of nearly $25,000 a year between the full age pension and what it costs for couples ($20,000 for singles) to have a comfortable lifestyle in retirement, it’s time to take control today and reap the massive benefits of boosting your super now,” says Money magazine editor Effie Zahos.
You may be surprised at the long-term differences the smallest of sacrifices can make too.
For example, just taking the time each month to make a simple home cooked meal instead of rushing out for takeaways, could translate to an extra $38,000 for your retirement.
Here are just a few other examples of how small sacrifices can make a big difference in your senior years:
- One less glass of wine at the pub each week and you could boost your future wealth by over $17,000
- Just one less manicure each month could give you over $44,000 extra to play with in the future
- Just one less beer at the pub each week could boost your future savings by over $35,000.