Housing costs put pressure on single retirees
New figures show single retirees faced the biggest jump in costs from the previous quarter as rising costs in housing, electricity and transport strained their budget.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) said single retirees' expenditure for a ‘modest' retirement rose 1.7 per cent to $23,032 per year.
Singles wanting a ‘comfortable' retirement will need to spend $41,830 a year, a 1.5 per cent increase from the previous quarter. They will need a super balance of around $430,000.
ASFA emphasised the need to save for retirement as expenditure for couples wanting a ‘comfortable' retirement rose 1.4 per cent to $57,195. This means they would need a joint superannuation balance of around $510,000.
Those wanting a ‘modest' retirement lifestyle will need to spend $33,120 a year, up 1.5 per cent.
ASFA CEO Pauline Vamos said policy makers should account for the different spending patterns of retirees when looking at the impact of inflation on the cost of living for this group.
"This quarter's substantial increase in the cost of items such as electricity, petrol, council and water rates have the potential to hit retirees hard, as they often have less flexibility in their budgets to accommodate additional expenditure in areas where there is less discretionary choice," Vamos said.
"Likewise expenditure on health services and food often make up a large portion of retirees' budgets, so it's encouraging to see prices in this area have remained fairly stable this quarter."
Electricity prices jumped by 4.4 per cent from the previous quarter while property rates and charges rose by 7.9 per cent. Water and sewerage costs jumped by 9.9 per cent.
Transport costs increased mainly due to a 7.6 per cent increase in petrol prices.
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