Retirement age

What is the retirement age in Australia?

Helen's retirement

Helen was a nurse working for a major hospital. She loved her job but decided that the time had come to start enjoying more time with her grandkids and go travelling with her retiree husband.
At age 63 she decided she would ease back on her full-time work and start to transition to retirement. The company saw the benefit in this as it allowed them to take on a new junior, without suddenly losing all of Helen’s experience and knowledge.

After discussing a Transition to Retirement plan with her super fund, she was able to work three days a week and access some of her super pension to make up for her reduced income from the company. She was even able to keep contributing to her super.

Two years later, Helen retired fully from her job and now her super fund pays her a regular pension, allowing her to travel, babysit her grandchildren and even do a little bit of dressmaking for her friends on the side.

There is no longer a fixed retirement age in Australia – flexibility rules!

Many people choose to retire when they become eligible for the Age Pension. The Age Pension age is 67. This applies to both men and women.

What type of income can I access in retirement?

For most retirees, income in retirement will come from one or more of:

Super savings
Government Age Pension
Investments
Casual income
A combination of above

Currently the basic Age Pension is set at a maximum of approximately:

$1,002.50 per fortnight for singles
$1,511.40 per fortnight combined for couples

In addition, a pension and energy supplement may also be payable. Often a combination of the Age Pension with your super and other income is a good option. One good way to manage income in retirement is to keep your super within your super fund so that it keeps working for you. You can then draw down on it via a retirement income stream. The income stream can then be complemented by other investments or even the Age Pension.

For more details about Government Age Pension visit our specific Age Pension page.