Retirement savings expectations for men and women

Australians over 55 expect to have an average of $497,513 saved by the time they retire. However, based on the ASFA Comfortable Retirement Standard, a single person would need around $595,000 and a couple $690,000 to achieve a comfortable retirement. 

There findings also show a significant gap between men and women, with men projecting almost $143,000 more in retirement savings than women. Across the board, men generally appear more financially prepared than women. This difference reflects broader patterns in women’s lifetime earnings. Women are more likely to take time out of the workforce for childbirth or childcare, work part-time more often, and earn less than men on average due to the gender pay gap. All of these factors mean women often have fewer opportunities to build retirement savings over their careers, which contributes to the gap we see in projected retirement wealth.

Retirement savings expectations across states

Retirement savings expectations also vary from state to state. Victorians anticipate the highest savings at $527,777, followed by New South Wales ($481,363) and Queensland ($491,509). South Australians and Western Australians expect slightly lower amounts, at $463,392 and $470,666, respectively. These differences may reflect variations in living costs, average incomes, and housing prices across states, which can influence how much people expect to save for retirement.

Planning for aged care also influences expected retirement savings across all states. Expectedly, those who have planned and saved for aged care generally project higher savings, ranging from $519,444 in South Australia to almost $579,347 in Western Australia. In contrast, people who haven’t planned for aged care expect considerably less, with averages ranging from $298,275 in Western Australia to $459,770 in Victoria.

This shows that both geographic location and aged care planning play a role in how much Australians expect to have saved for retirement.