{"id":481539,"date":"2025-10-08T00:09:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T00:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/481539\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T00:09:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T00:09:19","slug":"superannuation-gap-between-home-owners-and-renters-is-widening-asfa-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/481539\/","title":{"rendered":"Superannuation gap between home owners and renters is widening, ASFA finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

(This quirk where couples and singles require the same accumulated amount is because home owners can live modestly on the age pension with only a small super top-up.)<\/p>\n

ASFA hasn\u2019t crunched the annual spending or super savings required for renters to live to a more \u2018comfortable\u2019 retirement standard, which would include top private health cover, salon haircuts and confidence to run the air-con.<\/p>\n

\"Mary<\/p>\n

Mary Delahunty, chief executive of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia.Credit: <\/p>\n

Actuary and superannuation expert Stephen Huppert says that\u2019s because \u201cthe number would be too scary\u201d.<\/p>\n

ASFA chief Mary Delahunty explains that rent-related guidance numbers are only offered at the \u2018modest\u2019 level because people aiming for a \u2018comfortable\u2019 retirement don\u2019t require this information.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to provide guidance so we could talk for people without choices,\u201d she says. \u201cStructurally, as a nation, we need to solve the housing riddle. If people are renting as a choice \u2013 as my sister does so she can live near her grandchildren \u2013 then that\u2019s different.\u201d<\/p>\n

The federal age pension pays just $30,646 a year for singles and $46,202 for couples after age 67. Rent assistance is available \u2013 up to $212 a week or $11,024 annually \u2013 but it\u2019s clearly not enough to bridge the housing affordability gap.<\/p>\n

Australia needs 266,300 affordable rental homes by 2041, according to WelcomeMat chief executive Matt Khoo.<\/p>\n

\u201cAffordable housing has an increasingly important role for people aged in their 50s, many of whom do not own their home and are currently renting,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He defines affordable housing as rentals priced 20 per cent below market rate \u2013 crucial for helping key workers like police and nurses live near their jobs, stay in work for longer and grow their retirement savings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe housing crisis is more than a headline, especially if you\u2019re older, single and renting,\u201d Huppert says.<\/p>\n