How much super do Australians need to retire overseas?

Moneysmart, the consumer website of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), gives a rule of thumb of around 70% of working-life income for retirement, and states that there is no single amount that suits everyone¹.

The amount depends on spending habits, housing costs and retirement lifestyle. The retirement cost estimates Moneysmart lists assume the retiree owns a home, and renters are likely to have higher living costs in retirement¹.

Moneysmart also lists two non-government estimates, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) Retirement Standard and Super Consumers Australia's Retirement Savings Targets. ASFA is an industry association of superannuation funds¹.

The Age Pension paid in Australia was up to A$1,237.70 a fortnight for a single person from 20 September 2026, including the Pension Supplement and Energy Supplement, equal to A$32,180.20 a year². A couple could receive up to A$1,866.00 a fortnight combined, or A$48,516.00 a year.

Living costs for age pensioner households rose 4.7% over the year to the June quarter 2026, compared with 3.8% for self-funded retiree households, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) living cost data³. Housing recorded the largest increase among the 11 expenditure groups for age pensioner households, at 10.8%.

The Age Pension is indexed on 20 March and 20 September using the higher of movements in the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index and the Consumer Price Index over six months³. Over the six months to the June quarter 2026, the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index rose 3.2% and the Consumer Price Index rose 2.0%.

A single person living outside Australia can receive an Age Pension basic rate of up to A$29,520.40 a year⁶. A couple who are both eligible can receive up to A$44,506.80 combined, according to Services Australia.

Leaving Australia to live in another country stops the Pension Supplement and Energy Supplement and cancels the Pensioner Concession Card from the date of departure⁷.

After 26 weeks outside Australia, the Age Pension rate depends on a pensioner's Australian working life residence⁷. Australian working life residence is the time a person was an Australian resident between age 16 and Age Pension age, which is 67⁸. A pensioner with 35 years or more generally keeps the full rate, while a pensioner with 10 years receives 10/35ths of the usual rate⁷.

Worked example · 25 years of Australian working life residence

This is an illustrative calculation based on the maximum basic rate for a single pensioner living outside Australia. A single pensioner with 25 years of Australian working life residence would receive up to 25/35ths of A$29,520.40, or A$21,086.00 a year, if the income and assets tests allowed the full rate⁶.

Super can reduce the pension once a person reaches Age Pension age, because super balances and some super payments may count under the income and assets tests⁹. A single homeowner living outside Australia can have assets of up to A$333,000 for the full pension, and the part pension is paid only when assets are below A$711,500, compared with A$745,750 for a single homeowner in Australia⁶¹⁰.

Financial assets are deemed to earn 1.75% a year on the first A$66,800 for a single pensioner living overseas and 3.75% on amounts above that threshold⁶.

Australia has social security agreements with 32 countries, and a person living in one of them can claim the Age Pension from there¹¹. A person living in a country without an agreement cannot claim the Age Pension from that country, and Services Australia states that a claim generally needs to be made before leaving Australia¹².

Pensioners living outside Australia long term are paid every four weeks, in local currency or US dollars when the payment goes to a bank account outside Australia⁶.

Medicare does not cover medical care outside Australia, but Australia has reciprocal health care agreements with 11 countries that can cover some medically necessary care for visitors¹⁸. The agreement countries are Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom¹⁹.

The agreement with Italy covers essential care that cannot wait until the person returns home, through the national health service, for up to six months after arrival²⁰.

Health prices in 2021 ranged from 15.3% of Australia's level in Vietnam to 83.5% in the United Kingdom among the 14 selected countries⁴. The price levels include government-provided health care and do not measure access to care or its quality.

In Australia, health costs for age pensioner households rose 3.8% over the year to the June quarter 2026³.

This article does not cover private health insurance premiums for Australians living abroad.

The Moneysmart retirement planner starts from a retirement income target of A$2,917 a month for its default salary of A$50,000 a year, equal to 70% of that salary, and a default retirement age of 67²³.

The planner works in three steps, covering a person's current position, the income needed and the options available²³.

The assumed investment returns in the Moneysmart account-based pension calculator range from 4.3% a year for cash to 7.2% a year for high growth¹⁶. These are modelling assumptions, not forecasts. The return assumptions use the Willis Towers Watson Global Asset Model outlook at June 2026. The calculator assumes inflation of 2.5% a year, shows results in today's dollars and excludes the Age Pension.

The calculator's results are estimates based on assumptions, not predictions¹⁶.

An Age Pension paid overseas can be lower than an estimate for a pensioner living in Australia. Supplements stop when a pensioner moves abroad. After 26 weeks outside Australia, the rate is proportional for pensioners with fewer than 35 years of Australian working life residence⁷.