Australian Retirement Calculator
Find out when you can retire based on your savings, spending, and investment returns. All figures in real (inflation-adjusted) terms.
Your Details
Assumptions
Retire at
62
Target
$1,500,000
4% rule
Coast FIRE
Age 50
Stop saving, coast to 67
Current progress
3%
of target
Net Worth Projection
Milestones
25%
Age 42
$375,000
50%
Age 51
$750,000
75%
Age 57
$1,125,000
100%
Age 62
$1,500,000
Save More, Retire Earlier
How the retirement calculator works
Enter your current age, annual income, existing savings, yearly spending, and expected investment return rate. The calculator computes three key outputs: your projected retirement age (when invested assets can sustain your spending indefinitely), your Coast FIRE age (when you can stop saving and still retire by 67), and a year-by-year timeline chart showing portfolio growth.
The retirement target is based on the 4% rule from the Trinity Study. Multiply your desired annual spending by 25 to get the portfolio size needed to fund that spending for 30+ years with a high probability of success. For example, if you spend $60,000 per year, you need $1.5 million in invested assets. All projections are shown in real (inflation-adjusted) terms so the numbers reflect today's purchasing power.
The timeline chart plots your savings trajectory year by year, showing how compounding accelerates growth over time. You can adjust inputs to see how saving more, spending less, or earning higher returns changes the date you reach financial independence.
Retirement target by annual spending
The table below shows how much you need invested to retire at different spending levels, using the 25x rule (4% safe withdrawal rate).
| Annual Spending | Retirement Target (25x) | Monthly Drawdown |
|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $1,000,000 | $3,333 |
| $50,000 | $1,250,000 | $4,167 |
| $60,000 | $1,500,000 | $5,000 |
| $70,000 | $1,750,000 | $5,833 |
| $80,000 | $2,000,000 | $6,667 |
| $100,000 | $2,500,000 | $8,333 |
Worked example: retiring on $85,000 income
Consider a 30-year-old earning $85,000 before tax with $50,000 already saved. After tax and expenses, they spend $55,000 per year and save roughly $30,000 annually into a diversified index portfolio returning 7% per year (nominal).
Their retirement target is 25 times $55,000, which equals $1,375,000 in today's dollars. Starting with $50,000 and adding $30,000 each year at a real return of roughly 4-5% after inflation, the portfolio crosses $1.375 million around age 44 — approximately 14 years of disciplined saving and compounding.
Coast FIRE arrives earlier, around age 38. At that point, the portfolio has grown enough that even without further contributions it will compound to the retirement target by age 67. After reaching Coast FIRE, this person could switch to a lower-paid job, go part-time, or take a sabbatical — they only need to cover current spending, not save anything extra.
Small changes make a big difference. Cutting spending by $5,000 per year reduces the target by $125,000 and accelerates the timeline by roughly two years. Earning an extra $5,000 in side income has a similar effect. The calculator lets you experiment with these trade-offs in seconds.
How Australian tax affects your retirement timeline
Australia's progressive tax system directly impacts how fast you can save. On an $85,000 salary, you lose roughly $20,000 to income tax and the 2% Medicare levy, leaving about $65,000 in take-home pay. Every dollar of spending reduction goes straight to savings, but every dollar of income increase is taxed at your marginal rate — 32.5% for income between $45,001 and $120,000 in 2024-25.
Investment returns get more favourable treatment. If you hold shares or ETFs for longer than 12 months, you receive a 50% CGT discount — only half the capital gain is added to your taxable income. This makes long-term investing significantly more tax-efficient than short-term trading.
Franking credits are another advantage for Australian investors. When companies pay tax on profits before distributing dividends, shareholders receive a tax credit for the corporate tax already paid. For investors in lower tax brackets, franking credits can result in a tax refund, effectively boosting after-tax returns from Australian equities.
Superannuation is the most tax-advantaged vehicle available, with contributions taxed at just 15% and earnings in the fund taxed at a maximum of 15%. However, you generally cannot access super until age 60, so early retirees need sufficient assets outside super to bridge the gap. A complete retirement plan considers both super and non-super investments working together.
Common retirement planning mistakes
- Ignoring inflation. A $1 million target sounds large today, but in 20 years it buys significantly less. Always plan in real (inflation-adjusted) terms — this calculator does that automatically.
- Assuming constant returns. Markets do not return 7% every year. Sequence-of-returns risk means poor early returns can derail a plan even if the long-run average holds. Build a buffer above your minimum target.
- Forgetting the super access age. You cannot touch superannuation until preservation age (60 for most people). If you plan to retire at 45, you need 15 years of living expenses in accessible investments before super kicks in.
- Not stress-testing the plan. Run the calculator with lower returns (5% instead of 7%) and higher spending to see how sensitive your timeline is. A plan that only works under optimistic assumptions is not a plan.
- Treating the target as exact. The 25x rule is a guideline, not a guarantee. Health costs, market crashes, and lifestyle changes all create variance. Aim for a range rather than a single number, and revisit your plan annually.
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