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1 July 2026

Mo and Chris* - a real-life retirement case study

Mo is now 63 and retired at age 60
Chris is now 58, works part-time, and plans to retire at 60

This case study outlines how they structured their finances to both retire at age 60.

Pre-retirement planning

In Mo’s mid-50s, they set a goal for him to retire at 60.

They used the Model My Super Opens in new window calculator to assess their position and estimate how much they would need to retire comfortably at 60.

They estimated they would require around $80,000 a year (about $3,100 a fortnight) to live in retirement. To generate this income they calculated that they would need to be debt-free and have about $1.2 million in super. At the time of their initial planning session, they had around $600,000 in super and about $600,000 in debt.

After doing this research they spoke with an ANZ Staff Super financial adviser* and developed a three-step plan.

Step 1 – Retire debt

Mo and Chris had a 4-bedroom home in a mid-distance suburb from the city worth around $2.5 million with a mortgage of $600,000. Their children had left home so being close to the schools they wanted to send their children to, was no longer a priority.

After much consideration they decided to sell their home and buy a less expensive house a bit further away from the city.

Their home sold for around $2.5 million and they bought a slightly smaller house a bit further out for $1.5 million leaving around $900,000 after fees and duties. They paid off their Mortgage which left them with $300,000. They were able to use this to boost their super.

Step 2 – Review their super

Mo and Chris discussed with their adviser their goal of having $1.2 million in super by the time Mo turned 60. The areas they reviewed were:

Review insurance: they reviewed their insurance and assessed they needed less insurance cover now they had paid off their mortgage, and the children had left school and home. This saved money in reduced insurance premiums.
Risk tolerance: They worked out that they had an appetite for a more aggressive investment profile with the expectation of slightly higher returns while still keeping within their appetite for risk.
Set up a contribution strategy to help boost their super including:
- Making a pre-tax contribution of $300,000 split between Mo and Chris’s super account
- Mo to salary sacrifice up to his concessional cap
- Chris to salary sacrifice up to an amount that is tax effective for her
- Both to make additional after-tax contributions when they have excess cash

Step 3 – Estimate expenses

Mo and Chris reviewed the major expenses they expected to have over the next few years and made an allowance for them in their retirement plans. This included:

New vehicles
House renovations and major repairs
Potential wedding costs for their children

Talk to an adviser

All ANZ Staff Super members have access to financial advice on key aspects of their super at no additional cost. If you’ve never spoken to an adviser before, this is a great place to start. Call us on 1800 000 086 to make an appointment with one of our qualified financial advisers.

Estate planning

Mo and Chris also took the opportunity to review their:

Wills
Enduring powers of attorney, and
Advance care directives

Mo retiring at age 60

Mo retired when he turned age 60 and his super balance was $900,000. He commenced a Retirement Account Based Pension paying $1,500 per fortnight.
He nominated Chris as his reversionary beneficiary so she could continue the pension should anything happen to Mo.
Chris’s part-time work was used to bring them up to their income requirements of $80,000 per year. She was still able to salary sacrifice an amount to her super.

Chris reaching age 60

When Chris reaches age 60, she will also commence a Retirement Account Based Pension of $1,500 per fortnight.
At this time Mo will increase his pension to $1,600 per fortnight giving them the income they require.
Mo is nominated as Chris’s reversionary benefiary so he can continue the pension should anything happen to Chris.

Further considerations

To protect against outliving their super, Mo and Chris can choose to downsize their home again after living in the new house for 10 years or more. This could free up more funds for retirement. As they started their planning early enough, the 10-year threshold to be eligible for a downsizer contributionOpens in new window will occur when Mo reaches age 65.

Depending on the amount of money available this could result in a further contribution of up to $300,000 each.
Mo and Chris are considering doing a re-contribution strategy to reduce tax payable to their dependants when they die.

Comments from Mo and Chris

"Mo said it was a challenge to change his mindset from accumulating super and looking at an increasing balance in his account, to actually starting to draw down an income and seeing the balance decrease. Although he did say that over the first three years the earnings have pretty well matched his pension drawings.
Mo has also managed his investment choice so he can draw down his pension amount from his Cash option. This gave him some comfort when markets went down, as it meant he could wait for them to increase before he topped up his cash account."

"Chris said she feels more comfortable about being able to retire at age 60 as everything has gone to plan so far and that this will allow them to enjoy their later years."

* Based on an interview with actual ANZ Staff Super members. Their names have been changed.

Important notice: In preparing this document the Trustee has not taken into account the investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs (“financial circumstances”) of any person. Accordingly, before acting on the advice contained in this document, you should assess whether the advice is appropriate in light of your own financial circumstances and consider contacting your financial adviser. This document and interests in the ANZ Australian Staff Superannuation Scheme (“Scheme”) are issued by ANZ Staff Superannuation (Australia) Pty Limited. You should consider the relevant PDS and TMD before making a decision in relation to a financial product.
The Trustee of ANZ Staff Super has entered into an agreement with MUFG Retire360 Pty Limited under which Retire360's Financial Advisers have been engaged to provide members with general or limited personal financial advice about options available within ANZ Staff Super. While most general advice is available over the phone at no additional cost, some types of personal advice may attract a fee depending on the scope of advice required from your adviser. You will be advised of this fee and must agree to it before the advice is provided to you. These financial planning services are provided by MUFG Retire360 Pty Limited ABN 36 105 811 836 AFSL 258145. Any advice provided by Retire360's financial advisers is not provided or endorsed by the Trustee and is not provided under the Trustee's AFSL.