A comfortable retirement costs $73,875 per annum for couples and $52,383 per annum for singles, according to the newly updated Retirement Standard.
For more than two decades, the Retirement Standard has been Australia's trusted guide to budgeting in retirement.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) updates the Retirement Standard quarterly to factor in inflation.
ASFA defines a 'comfortable' retirement as having a good standard of living with the ability to easily cover life's essentials, plus a broad range of other expenses.
These include top-level private health insurance, a reasonable car, nice clothes, fast internet and a mobile phone, lots of exercise and leisure activities, occasional restaurant meals, a domestic trip once per year, and an overseas holiday every seven years.
A 'modest' retirement lifestyle costs less: $48,184 for couples and $33,386 for singles.
ASFA defines a modest retirement as having basic private health insurance, a cheaper car, basic internet and mobile phone, infrequent exercise and leisure activities, few restaurant meals, and one domestic holiday per year.
All of these living costs assume retirees own their own home outright and are relatively healthy.
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Retirement living costs rise, but not as much as inflation
Living costs for a comfortable retirement increased by 1.6% over the year to 31 March, and 1.7% for a modest retirement, ASFA said.
This is well below the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rise of 2.4%.
ASFA CEO Mary Delahunty said the cost of essentials such as food, energy, and health care continues to rise despite lower overall inflation.
ASFA noted that fruit and vegetable prices rose by 6.6% and meat and seafood prices rose by 4.3% over the 12 months to 31 March.
Delahunty said:
Australians in retirement are starting to benefit from a slowdown in inflation, but the prices of essentials are still rising.
It's a timely reminder that achieving a dignified retirement takes planning, and superannuation plays a critical role in making that possible.
How much superannuation do you need?
The amount of superannuation needed by age 67 to fund your retirement did not change in the March quarter.
Couples need at least $690,000 in superannuation and singles need at least $595,000 by age 67 for a comfortable retirement.
For a modest retirement, couples and singles require $100,000 in superannuation.
These figures assume a retiree owns their home mortgage-free.
They also assume a retiree receives a part-pension and an average 6% per annum total return on their superannuation savings.
ASFA said the superannuation required for a modest lifestyle is relatively low because the full age pension covers the bulk of expenses.
Do you qualify for the age pension?
The latest changes to age pension eligibility criteria come into effect on 1 July.
The changes raise the thresholds for the pension assets and income tests.
You can read about the latest changes here.
The full age pension, including all supplements, is $45,037.20 per year for couples and $29,874 for singles.
