Retirement income options

Everyone's retirement is different. Some retirees explore whether they can afford more income today, while others review whether their current approach remains sustainable over the long term.

Your lifestyle, goals, age, savings and other sources of income all play a part in deciding what may be right for you.

The examples below show how people with different retirement goals explored their options using the CFS Retirement Income Drawdown calculator.

Age 74 | CFS account balance: $180,000

Susan's goal

Susan wanted to spend more time with her grandchildren and take an interstate holiday each year.

Estimated extra cost

About $4,000 a year.

Starting point

Susan was 74, single and retired, with $180,000 in her CFS pension account, $20,000 in personal assets and $15,000 in financial investments. She owned her home, had no mortgage and received no employment income.

What Susan explored

Susan entered her retirement circumstances into the CFS Retirement Income Drawdown calculator. She selected a Balanced investment option, with an assumed return of 6.7%, and chose to calculate her yearly target income based on her super lasting to age 92.

What Susan learned

Based on the information and assumptions entered, the calculator forecast yearly retirement income of $48,898 a year, compared with the modest single lifestyle benchmark of approximately $36,548 a year, and modelled Susan's super to last to age 92. This gave Susan a clearer starting point for considering her lifestyle today alongside her needs later in retirement.

Age 72 | CFS account balance: $550,000

David's goal

David wanted more time for travel, new interests and family.

Estimated extra cost

About $8,000 a year.

Starting point

David was 72, single and retired, with $550,000 in his CFS pension account, $30,000 in personal assets and $40,000 in financial investments. He owned his home, had no mortgage and received no employment income.

What David explored

David entered his retirement circumstances into the CFS Retirement Income Drawdown calculator. He selected a Balanced investment option, with an assumed return of 6.7%, and chose to calculate his yearly target income based on his super lasting to age 92.

What David learned

Based on the information and assumptions entered, the calculator forecast yearly retirement income of $69,096 a year, compared with the comfortable single lifestyle benchmark of approximately $56,166 a year, and modelled David's super to last to age 92. The result did not tell David what to do, but gave him an estimate to support his consideration of his retirement income options.

Ages 73 and 70 | Combined CFS account balances: $730,000

Their goal

John and Anne wanted to travel overseas each year and help their grandchildren with future education costs.

Starting point

John and Anne were 73 and 70 and retired, with CFS pension balances of $400,000 and $330,000 respectively, giving them a combined balance of $730,000. They also had $40,000 in personal assets and $60,000 in financial investments. They owned their home, had no mortgage and received no employment income.

What they explored

John and Anne entered their retirement circumstances into the CFS Retirement Income Drawdown calculator. They selected a Balanced investment option, with an assumed return of 6.7%, and chose to calculate their yearly target income based on their super lasting to age 92.

What they learned

Based on the information and assumptions entered, the calculator forecast yearly household retirement income of $101,880, compared with the comfortable couple lifestyle benchmark of approximately $79,000 a year, and modelled their super to last to age 92. The forecast helped John and Anne consider their current plans alongside their future needs.

Age 70 | CFS account balance: $520,000

Karen's goal

Karen was receiving approximately $69,000 a year from her pension account, which was above both the legislated minimum pension payment of approximately $26,000 a year and the calculator's estimated sustainable income. She wanted to understand whether her current retirement income remained sustainable over the long term.

Starting point

Karen was 70, single and retired, with $520,000 in her CFS pension account, $25,000 in personal assets and $60,000 in financial investments. She owned her home, had no mortgage and received no employment income. Karen was drawing $69,000 a year, compared with the legislated minimum pension payment of $26,000 a year.

What Karen explored

Karen entered her retirement circumstances into the CFS Retirement Income Drawdown calculator using a target age of 98. She compared her current annual income of $69,000 with the calculator's estimated sustainable income.

What Karen learned

Using a target age of 98, the calculator estimated sustainable retirement income of $62,595 a year. At Karen's current income level of $69,000 a year, her super capital was modelled to last to age 89. This illustrated how reducing her current income drawdown could improve the sustainability of her retirement savings over her desired timeframe.

Age 71 | CFS account balance: $540,000

Peter's goal

Peter had been receiving approximately $70,000 a year from his pension account, which was above both the legislated minimum pension payment of approximately $27,000 a year and the calculator's estimated sustainable income. Rather than exploring whether he could afford more, he wanted confidence that his current income approach would continue to support both his lifestyle today and his needs later in retirement.

Starting point

Peter was 71, single and retired, with $540,000 in his CFS pension account, $30,000 in personal assets and $70,000 in financial investments. He owned his home, had no mortgage and received no employment income. Peter was drawing $70,000 a year, compared with the legislated minimum pension payment of $27,000 a year.

What Peter explored

Peter entered his retirement circumstances into the CFS Retirement Income Drawdown calculator using a target age of 98. He compared his current annual income of $70,000 with the calculator's estimated sustainable income.

What Peter learned

Using a target age of 98, the calculator estimated sustainable retirement income of $63,468 a year. At Peter's current income level of $70,000 a year, his super capital was modelled to last to age 89. This illustrated how reducing his current income drawdown could improve the sustainability of his retirement savings over his desired timeframe.

Ages 70 and 73 | Combined CFS account balances: $700,000

Their goal

Michael and Lisa were receiving approximately $100,000 a year from their pension accounts, well above their combined legislated minimum pension payments of approximately $35,000 a year. They wanted to understand whether their current retirement income approach remained appropriate over the long term while also considering their goal of leaving an inheritance for their family.

Starting point

Michael and Lisa were 70 and 73 and retired, with CFS pension balances of $380,000 and $320,000 respectively, giving them a combined balance of $700,000. They also had $40,000 in personal assets and $70,000 in financial investments. They owned their home, had no mortgage and received no employment income. They were drawing a combined $100,000 a year, compared with combined legislated minimum pension payments of $35,000 a year.

What they explored

Michael and Lisa entered their retirement circumstances into the CFS Retirement Income Drawdown calculator using a target age of 100. They compared their current combined income of $100,000 a year with the calculator's estimated combined retirement income of $90,833 a year, while considering their goal of leaving an inheritance.

What they learned

Using a target age of 100, the calculator estimated combined retirement income of $90,833 a year. At an income of $100,000 a year, their super was modelled to last to age 89. If they instead drew $90,833 a year, their combined super balance at age 89 was estimated to be approximately $222,000, comprising approximately $120,000 for Michael and $101,000 for Lisa. This illustrated the trade-off between receiving more income today and preserving more savings for later life or an inheritance.