Retiring at 60 would sound pretty good to me.
But finishing work earlier means my superannuation may need to support me for a long time.
So, how large would I want my balance to be before calling it a day?
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Start with the lifestyle I want
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) provides a helpful starting point.
Its latest Retirement Standard estimates that a single homeowner aged 65 to 84 needs around $56,166 a year for a comfortable retirement. For a couple, the figure is approximately $78,998 a year.
That comfortable lifestyle includes things such as private health insurance, regular leisure activities, meals out, maintaining a car, home repairs, and occasional travel.
Of course, my own spending could be higher or lower.
But I think those figures provide a sensible benchmark for thinking about how much income my super may need to provide.
Retiring at 60 changes the numbers
ASFA estimates that a single homeowner needs around $630,000 in super to fund a comfortable retirement from age 67. A couple needs around $730,000 combined.
The important part is the age.
Those figures assume retirement at 67, whereas I am looking at stopping work seven years earlier.
Age Pension eligibility also currently begins at 67, subject to the relevant income, asset, and residency rules.
That means someone retiring at 60 may need to fund several additional years before any potential Age Pension support begins.
For people born from 1 July 1964, 60 is also the current preservation age for superannuation, although a condition of release still needs to be met before the money can generally be accessed.
How much would I want?
If I were a single homeowner aiming for something close to ASFA's comfortable lifestyle, I would personally want around $900,000 in super before retiring at 60.
That is not an official ASFA target.
It simply gives me more room to fund those extra seven years while leaving plenty of capital invested for later in retirement.
For a couple, I would be thinking closer to $1.1 million combined, depending on our expected spending and other assets.
I would not treat either figure as a magic number. Someone with inexpensive hobbies, a paid-off home, and modest travel plans may be comfortable with less. Someone planning regular overseas holidays or helping family financially may want considerably more.
I would keep investing after retirement
I would also want my superannuation to continue growing after I stopped working.
At 60, retirement could still last 30 years or more.
That is too long for me to become entirely focused on cash and defensive investments like bonds.
I would still want exposure to Australian and international shares, alongside enough defensive assets to cover spending without being forced to sell shares during a market downturn.
Investment returns could then help offset some withdrawals and give the balance a better chance of keeping up with inflation.
Foolish takeaway
If I planned to retire at 60, I would personally aim for around $900,000 in superannuation as a single homeowner, rather than relying on the age-67 benchmark of $630,000.
Retiring seven years earlier creates a larger job for the portfolio.
For me, having that extra buffer would provide more flexibility around spending, market downturns, and the possibility of a retirement lasting several decades.
