Can you retire at 60 with $500,000 in super?

Retiring at 60 means seven years without Age Pension support — more than three times the bridge period of someone retiring at 65. The pension doesn't start until 67, so your super has to cover everything in the interim.

With $500,000 in super and spending around $45,000 a year, you'd draw roughly $315,000 over those seven years. After accounting for investment returns on the remaining balance (assuming 7% p.a. balanced returns), you'd arrive at 67 with approximately $330,000 in super.

This is the critical planning window. What you spend here directly determines the balance Centrelink uses to assess your pension entitlements — and your fortnightly payments for the rest of retirement.

One thing working in your favour: super withdrawals after age 60 are completely tax-free (ATO source). These are modelled projections — your actual outcome depends on your specific circumstances, including returns, spending, and timing.

By 67, your balance is projected to have reduced to approximately $330,000 through seven years of drawdowns. For a single homeowner, Centrelink assesses total assessable assets — your super plus any cash, investments, and other countable assets (but not your family home).

With ~$330,000 in super and $50,000 in other assets, total assessable assets are approximately $380,000. The full Age Pension assets test lower threshold is approximately $333,000 for a single homeowner (2025–26, from Services Australia). Pension thresholds are indexed periodically, so in real terms the assessable assets under these modelled conditions sit close to the threshold — with the assets test satisfied and a small income test reduction applying.

Centrelink also applies a separate income test. Investments are "deemed" to earn a set return — currently 1.25% on the first $66,800 and 3.25% above that (as at July 2026). Both tests are applied, and the one that produces the lower pension payment determines your rate.

Under these modelled conditions, the projected result is a near-full part pension — with the exact amount shown by the calculator on this page.

Without any pension support, $500,000 at a $45,000 annual spend (CPI-adjusted each year) runs out around age 74–75 — roughly 14–15 years of retirement. That falls well short of the 25–30 year retirement most people plan for.

With a near-full Age Pension from 67, the picture changes significantly. The pension covers the bulk of living costs from that point, meaning your super only needs to fund the gap — approximately $15,000 per year after the pension kicks in. At that draw rate, with balanced investment returns, your super is projected to stretch into the late 80s or beyond.

The calculator above shows this year by year. Look for the inflection point at 67 — where the drawdown rate drops sharply as pension income takes over most of the heavy lifting.

The ATO sets minimum drawdown rates that increase with age (ATO schedule). At 60, the minimum is 4%; it rises to 5% at 65, 6% at 75, and 7% at 80. These are modelled outcomes, not guarantees — your actual result depends on market returns, spending, and other variables.

These projections use a balanced return assumption of 7% per year. Several factors could shift your outcome significantly.

Sequence-of-returns risk is especially relevant with a seven-year pre-pension gap. A poor run of returns in the first three years of retirement — even if long-term averages hold — can reduce your runway by five or more years. The longer the bridge, the more exposure you have to this risk.

Spending shocks are the other major variable. A single $30,000 unexpected expense — health costs, major home repairs, helping family — meaningfully changes your balance at 67 and the pension entitlements that follow.

Part-time work is a powerful lever. Even two days a week at $200 per day for two to three years adds roughly $40,000 or more to savings and delays super drawdowns. You can explore other starting ages in the scenarios grid to see how a few more years of work affects the outcome.

Downsizing your home is another option — freeing up $200,000 or more — though it also affects your homeowner status for pension purposes. See our downsizing guide for how this affects your Age Pension. The pension itself is indexed to wages and CPI, so its real purchasing power holds over time.

The projections above assume you own your home outright. If you're renting, the numbers shift in two ways.

First, the Age Pension assets test thresholds are higher for non-homeowners — approximately $600,000 for a single renter (vs $333,000 for homeowners, 2025–26). This means renters can hold more in assessable assets and still qualify for a full or near-full pension. Second, renters may receive Rent Assistance on top of the base pension — currently up to $188.20 per fortnight for a single person.

However, renters also face higher ongoing costs. Median rent in Australian capitals is roughly $400–$550 per week ($20,000–$28,000 per year), which significantly reduces the amount available for other living expenses.

The net effect: renters receive a more generous pension, but the extra payment rarely covers the full cost of rent.

This page uses standard assumptions — $45,000 annual spend, $50,000 in other assets, single homeowner, balanced returns. Your situation is almost certainly different.

The most useful next step is to enter your real numbers. Your actual super balance, spending, other assets, and whether you own your home all affect the outcome. The full calculator takes about two minutes and gives you a personalised year-by-year projection.

Super fund fees also matter. On a $500,000 balance, the difference between a 0.7% and a 1.2% fee is approximately $2,500 per year — a gap that compounds meaningfully over a 25-year retirement. ASIC's MoneySmart website has tools to compare super fund fees.

You can also explore other retirement scenarios to see how different ages and starting balances compare.