Most singles aged-pension reliant

Almost 50 per cent of Australians are not on track for a comfortable retirement and will need the aged pension to supplement their savings, research has found.  

Only 53 per cent of couples and 23 per cent of singles have enough in the bank to sustain their quality of life in their remaining years, based on the ASFA retirement standard, according to a study by Towers Watson and the University of Melbourne.  

According to ASFA, couples need around $57,655 and singles $42,158 for a comfortable retirement, which means an alarming proportion of Australians are still falling short, the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey found.  

As a consequence, a large number of both singles and couples will be heavily reliant upon the aged pension, Melbourne Institute Associate Professor Roger Wilkins said.  

“The research indicates that between ages 65 to 90, the age pension will provide 61 per cent of the retirement income of single people and 39 per cent of the retirement income of couples.  

“Moreover, 96 per cent of single people and 89 per cent of couples aged 40 to 64 today are expected to receive at least a partial age pension at some stage during retirement.”