Yahoo Finance Doing this will boost your super by $300,000
As of July 1, Australians aged over 60 are able to contribute up to $300,000 to their superannuation if they downsize from the family home.
Before July 1, only those over 65 were able to take advantage of the scheme.
Not only does this mean those aged 60 and over are able to contribute to their super but it can also help young people get more access to the housing market to start their own family.
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Being able to contribute an extra $300,000 to your super can also translate to a much higher balance, come retirement, because of the additional five years of interest on that investment.
For example, a 60-year-old earning $90,000 a year with an average super balance of $359,870 would retire at 67 with $498,368.
But, a 60-year-old who sold their family home and contributed the full $300,000 allowed would retire with $851,688 - more than $353,000 more.
To compare, someone who sold the family home to make the extra contribution at 65 years old would retire with $725,887.
How much do you need to retire comfortably?
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA)’s estimate of annual expenses for a couple retiring comfortably at 65 is $64,771 a year (if you own your own home).
Super Consumers Australia recently released new retirement-savings forecasts for homeowners, finding that you may need as much as $1 million if you were a couple wanting to spend about $75,000 a year.
If you’re single and want to live on a more modest $29,000 you’ll need $73,000 on top of what you’ll get from the Aged Pension.
A single person wanting to spend around $51,000 per year would need $743,000 and a couple wanting to spend around $56,000 per year would need $352,000.
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