How Much to Retire on the Sunshine Coast (2026)

At Sunlit Path, we help Sunshine Coast locals plan their life after work, not just their money. That includes looking at how super and any Age Pension could work together as a regular pay packet.

The Retirement Fear Nobody Talks About

Turning 60 is a big deal.

Ultimately, the question remains: How much money do I actually need to retire comfortably and enjoy your golden years?

Work starts to feel heavy. Retirement goes from a far-off dream to something that is actually happening soon. And after all those years of saving, something strange happens.

You stop being scared of running out of money. You get scared of spending it.

We see it all the time. Good, hard-working people on the Sunshine Coast who won’t buy a coffee at their local cafe. People who cancel a trip because they do not know if they can afford it. People who lie awake worrying, even though they have worked hard their whole lives.

You deserve better than that. So let us find your number together.

What Does a Comfortable Retirement Actually Cost in 2026?

There are two well-known benchmarks, and they measure different spending levels. Both are useful.

ASFA’s Comfortable and Modest Budgets

ASFA stands for the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia. Every year they work out what it costs to live a comfortable retirement life. We are talking private health cover, a decent car, and a holiday or two each year.

ASFA updates its budgets each quarter as prices change. In its June quarter 2026 update, it reported that electricity and health costs for retirees rose faster than general inflation over the year.

ASFA’s yearly budgets for homeowners aged 65–84 (June quarter 2026), and the super balance ASFA estimates is needed at 67 (revised February 2026):

Super Consumers Australia’s Savings Targets

ASFA’s numbers aren’t the only guide.

Super Consumers Australia (SCA) publishes retirement savings targets on Moneysmart. They show how much super you might need at 65 for low, medium and high spending, assuming you own your home and get the Age Pension you’re entitled to.

SCA’s medium-spending targets (homeowners, at 65):

Why is this lower? Mostly because the spending level is lower: $64,000 a year for a couple, against ASFA’s comfortable budget of $78,998. Both sets of numbers assume you own your home and get any Age Pension you’re entitled to. At the medium level, SCA assumes the Age Pension funds about 70% of a couple’s spending and 67% of a single person’s.

What Happens Between Age 60 and 67?

Here is something most retirement articles skip over, and it is important.

Once permanently retired, you can access your super from age 60. But the Age Pension does not start until age 67. That can be a seven-year window where you’re living off your own savings, without the Age Pension.

This is one of the most overlooked stretches in retirement planning. Spend too freely in your early sixties and you arrive at 67 with a much smaller balance than you planned. Spend too cautiously and you waste the healthiest, most active years of your retirement sitting on money you are too scared to use.

The answer is to think of retirement in two clear phases.

When you plan both phases from the start, you get a clearer picture of what you might spend at 60, not just at 67. That is what turns a super balance into a retirement you can actually live.

What About $800,000?

Many people asking this question have a figure in mind, often around $800,000. Here’s what the Age Pension rules could mean at that level.

Illustration only — fictional people, rounded numbers, using Age Pension rates and limits from 20 September 2026. Both examples are homeowners aged 67 or over, and $800,000 is their total assessable assets, all in super and savings. It isn’t a forecast or a recommendation.

A couple with $800,000: that’s $301,000 above the $499,000 full-pension limit for a homeowner couple. Under the assets test, the pension reduces by $3 a fortnight for every $1,000 over the limit, about $903 a fortnight. That leaves roughly $960 a fortnight between them, or about $25,000 a year. Centrelink also runs the income test, using deeming, and pays whichever result is lower. For this couple, the assets test gives the lower result. ASFA’s comfortable budget for a homeowner couple is $78,998 a year, so in this example the rest, roughly $54,000 a year, would come from their own money. As the balance falls, the Age Pension would generally rise. How long the money lasts depends on returns, spending and future rule changes, and that is what a plan works through.

A single person with $800,000: that’s above the $745,750 cut-off for a single homeowner, so they wouldn’t get a part pension under the assets test until their assessable assets fall below that point.

ASFA’s lump sums ($730,000 for a couple, $630,000 for a single person) assume you draw down all your capital and get a part Age Pension. They’re broad benchmarks, not a test you pass or fail.

How Does the Age Pension Work in 2026?

Think of the Age Pension like a regular payment from the government to help you live in retirement. You can get it from age 67 if you meet the various eligibility rules.

How much does it pay for the full pension?

• $1,866per fortnight
  Couples (combined)
• $1,237.70per fortnight
  Singles

(maximum rates including supplements, from 20 September 2026)

Centrelink uses two checks to decide what you get. They look at how much money you earn (the income test) and how much you own (the assets test). For example, from 20 September 2026 a single homeowner can have up to $333,000 in assessable assets (not counting the home) and still get the full pension, and a part pension stops at $745,750. For a homeowner couple, the limits are $499,000 and $1,121,000 combined. Centrelink works out the rate under both tests and pays the lower result.

Not sure whether you’d be eligible? Services Australia’s Payment and Service Finder can give you an estimate. Eligibility depends on your age, residence, and the income and assets tests.

What Are Deeming Rates? (And Why They Matter Now)

Here is a simple way to understand deeming rates.

Imagine Centrelink says: “We think your savings are earning 3.75% a year.” It does not matter if they are earning more or less than that. Centrelink uses that made-up number to decide how much pension you get.

From 20 September 2026, the deeming rates are 1.75% on the first $66,800 of a single person’s financial assets ($110,600 combined for a couple where at least one of you gets a pension), and 3.75% on anything above that.

When deeming rates rise, deemed income rises, which can reduce a part pension under the income test. How your money is held can affect how it’s assessed. For example, some lifetime income streams are assessed differently. Whether any of that suits you depends on your circumstances.

What If My Super Balance Is Not at the Target Yet?

Do not panic. There are real things you can do to make your money go further.

Strategy 1: Income Layering

Keeping all your retirement money in one investment mix can create a timing problem, something we call the Bad Timing Tax. If markets fall just as you start drawing an income, you may have to sell investments at a low point, and that can leave less to recover later.

One way some people approach this is to think in layers:

1. The Age Pension layer: checking whether you qualify for any Age Pension, and how your assets and income are assessed.
2. A lifetime income layer: a lifetime annuity or other lifetime income stream pays an income for life. Some are indexed and others aren’t, so read the product’s PDS and TMD. Lifetime income streams bought on or after 1 July 2019 that meet the rules are assessed differently: generally 60% of the purchase price counts under the assets test until age 84 (or at least 5 years), then 30%, and 60% of the payments count under the income test.
3. A flexible layer: an account-based pension for growth investments and access to your money.
4. A legacy layer: money set aside for family or causes you care about.

Whether any of these layers suits you depends on your circumstances.

Strategy 2: The Work Bonus

You do not have to stop working completely to enjoy retirement. The government rewards people who keep earning a little with something called the Work Bonus.

For eligible pensioners, up to $300 a fortnight of work income isn’t counted under the income test. Unused amounts build up as a Work Bonus balance of up to $11,800, which can offset future work income. This is great if you do some seasonal work, a short contract, or a bit of consulting.

Strategy 3: The 2026 Contribution Cap Increases

From 1 July 2026, the caps rose with indexation.

• Pre-tax contributions: up to $32,500 a year
• After-tax contributions: up to $130,000 a year
• Transfer balance cap (the most you can move into retirement-phase pension accounts over your lifetime): $2.1 million
• Downsizer contributions: up to $300,000 per person (or $600,000 for an eligible couple) if you’re 55 or older and sell a home you’ve owned for at least 10 years, among other conditions

If you are still working, even part-time, these higher limits give you a real chance to top up your balance before you finish.

Does the New Division 296 Tax Affect Me?

You might have heard scary things in the news about a new super tax. Here is the plain truth.

From 1 July 2026, Division 296 adds an extra 15% tax on the share of your super earnings linked to the part of your total super balance above $3 million, and a further 10% on the share linked to the part above $10 million (thresholds for 2026–27, indexed in future years). The tax applies to individuals, whether they invest with a super fund or have a self-managed super fund (SMSF).

It only affects people whose total super balance is above $3 million.

For 2026–27, it’s measured at 30 June 2027. If your total super balance is below $3 million, Division 296 doesn’t apply. Separately, super withdrawals from a taxed fund are generally tax-free once you’re 60.

How We Approach It

• We start with the income you’d like each fortnight, not just the balance.
• We look at setting aside some cash for near-term spending, so a market fall is less likely to force a sale at a bad time.
• We plan around the life you want after work, including time, health, people and place, not just the numbers.

Whether any of this suits you depends on your circumstances.

The goal is not to die with the most money. The goal is to live the life you worked for.

The Bottom Line

There is no single magic number that works for everyone. You might want to buy a caravan and drive around Australia. You might just want a quiet, happy life near the beach.

Either way, your number depends on how you want to live, what you own, and whether you qualify for a part Age Pension. Seeing those pieces side by side is a good first step.