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Age Pension needed for retirement adequacy
The average single Australian who does not get the Age Pension could expect to be just 46 per cent retirement ready, according to the CommBank Retire Ready Index.
The index also found single Australians who get the Age Pension is predicted to attain personal retirement savings equivalent to 61 per cent of what they need above the Age Pension for a comfortable retirement.
Couples on the other hand could expect to attain almost complete retirement adequacy, reaching retirement savings equivalent of 98 per cent of their comfortable retirement needs after receiving the Age Pension.
However, couples could expect to be only 60 per cent retire ready without the Age Pension.
General manager for retirement at the Commonwealth Bank, Nicolette Rubinsztein, said it was comforting to see couples aged between 65 and 74 were reaching the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia March quarter 2015 standard for a comfortable retirement of $58,444 per annum.
But the average single was expected to reach just $37,000 per annum, well short of the comfortable standard of retirement of $42,569 per annum.
"The Age Pension acts as a buffer and significantly boosts retirement savings, but clearly the results show that single Australians are not retiring with adequate levels of retirement savings to achieve a comfortable level of retirement," Rubinsztein said.
Single females are 30 per cent less retire-ready than men due to longer life expectancies, lower income levels during their careers, and career breaks during child bearing years.
The index revealed the average single female could expect to attain personal retirement savings equivalent to 47 per cent of her comfortable retirement requirements above the age pension, or just $35,000 a year.
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