This is what a $5 million retirement budget looks like

We asked financial adviser Olivia Maragna to devise a plan for a couple entering retirement with a generous super balance.

How much money do you need in retirement? It’s a difficult question for many people. Simon Letch

Lucy DeanWealth reporter

Mar 14, 2025 – 5.24pm

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How much money do you need in retirement? It’s a difficult question, and for many people, the answer is along the lines of “a whole lot more than I have right now”.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia publishes a retirement “standard” that indicates a home-owning couple will need a lump sum of $690,000 by age 67 to afford a comfortable retirement.

correction —

An earlier version of this article incorrectly quoted Koda Capital adviser James Hawthorne as saying his clients tend to spend 1 per cent of income on home maintenance each year when it should have said they tend to spend about 1 per cent of the value of the home on maintenance each year.

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Lucy DeanWealth reporterLucy Dean writes about wealth management, personal finance, lifestyle and leisure, based in The Australian Financial Review's Sydney newsroom.