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Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia

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Retiree statistics and the retirement plans of people aged 45 years and over

Reference period

2020-21 financial year

Released

29/08/2023

View all releases

Key statistics

There were 4.1 million retirees.
Average age at retirement (of all retirees) was 56.3 years.
140,000 people retired in 2020, with an average age of 64.3 years.
Average age people intend to retire is 65.5 years.
Pension was the main source of income for most retirees.

Retirement

In 2020-21, 56% of retirees were women.
The population of retired women increased more than men.
On average, women retire sooner than men. However, women are retiring later than in previous years.

		2018-19	2020-21	Change
People aged 45 years and over
	Retirees	3.8 million	4.1 million	+0.3 million
	Proportion retired	40%	40%	No Change
	Average age of retirement	55.4 years	56.3 years	+1.0 years
Men aged 45 years and over
	Retirees	1.7 million	1.8 million	+0.1 million
	Proportion retired	37%	37%	No Change
	Average age of retirement	59.5 years	59.3 years	-0.2 years
Women aged 45 years and over
	Retirees	2.1 million	2.3 million	+0.2 million
	Proportion retired	42%	43%	+1 pts
	Average age of retirement	52.1 years	54.0 years	+1.9 years

Graph 1 - Age distribution of retirees aged 45 years and over, 2020-21
	Men - Current age (%)	Men - Age at retirement (%)	Women - Current age (%)	Woman - Age at retirement (%)
Under 30	0	1.5	0	5.8
30-39	0	2.7	0	8.5
40-44	0	4.1	0	5.7
45-49	2	6.3	2.5	7.5
50-54	3.2	9.6	4.3	13.5
55-59	4.4	16.3	7.3	19.7
60-64	10.3	29.3	12.3	21.7
65-69	19.3	21.2	18.8	12.5
70-74	21.9	5.7	20.4	3.8
75-79	17.2	2.4	15.1	0.9
80 and over	21.7	0.9	19.3	0.4

Graph 1 - Age distribution of retirees aged 45 years and over, 2020-21

["","Men - Current age","Men - Age at retirement","Women - Current age","Woman - Age at retirement"]

[["Under 30","30-39","40-44","45-49","50-54","55-59","60-64","65-69","70-74","75-79","80 and over"],[[0],[0],[0],[2],[3.2000000000000002],[4.4000000000000004],[10.300000000000001],[19.300000000000001],[21.899999999999999],[17.199999999999999],[21.699999999999999]],[[1.5],[2.7000000000000002],[4.0999999999999996],[6.2999999999999998],[9.5999999999999996],[16.300000000000001],[29.300000000000001],[21.199999999999999],[5.7000000000000002],[2.3999999999999999],[0.90000000000000002]],[[0],[0],[0],[2.5],[4.2999999999999998],[7.2999999999999998],[12.300000000000001],[18.800000000000001],[20.399999999999999],[15.1],[19.300000000000001]],[[5.7999999999999998],[8.5],[5.7000000000000002],[7.5],[13.5],[19.699999999999999],[21.699999999999999],[12.5],[3.7999999999999998],[0.90000000000000002],[0.40000000000000002]]]

[]

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Note: Age at retirement is the age when people retired from the labour force (i.e. ceased working and/or looking for work).
Data sourced from Retirement and Retirement Intentions microdata. Age group data also available in Tables 1 and 3 in Data downloads.

Graph 2 - Average age at retirement (of all retirees), Sep 1983 to 2020-21
	Average age at retirement from full-time work (years)	Average age at retirement from labour force (years)	Retired from full-time work ('000)	Retired from labour force ('000)
Sep 1983	47.4		2,155.4
Nov 1986	47.8		2,395.0
Nov 1989	47.5		2,631.9
Oct 1992	47.5		2,800.1
Nov 1994	47.9		3,022.0
Nov 1997	47.8	50.5	3,223.8	2,786.2
2004-05		52.0		2,917.5
2006-07		52.2		2,969.1
2008-09		52.9		2,943.5
2010-11		52.9		3,141.7
2012-13		53.7		3,179.7
2014-15		54.3		3,413.0
2016-17		55.2		3,501.6
2018-19		55.4		3,846.8
2020-21		56.3		4,097.2

Graph 2 - Average age at retirement (of all retirees), Sep 1983 to 2020-21

["","Average age at retirement from full-time work","Average age at retirement from labour force","Retired from full-time work","Retired from labour force"]

[["Sep 1983","Nov 1986","Nov 1989","Oct 1992","Nov 1994","Nov 1997","2004-05","2006-07","2008-09","2010-11","2012-13","2014-15","2016-17","2018-19","2020-21"],[[47.399999999999999],[47.799999999999997],[47.497999999999998],[47.5],[47.896999999999998],[47.798999999999999],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null]],[[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[50.484000000000002],[51.970999999999997],[52.244],[52.859000000000002],[52.920000000000002],[53.667999999999999],[54.270000000000003],[55.232999999999997],[55.396999999999998],[56.323999999999998]],[[2155.4000000000001],[2395],[2631.9000000000001],[2800.0999999999999],[3022],[3223.8000000000002],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null]],[[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[2786.1999999999998],[2917.5],[2969.0999999999999],[2943.5],[3141.6999999999998],[3179.6999999999998],[3413],[3501.5999999999999],[3846.8000000000002],[4097.1999999999998]]]

[]

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Data sourced from Table 2 in Data downloads and combines data from different iterations of the survey and measures. State breakdowns are also available in Table 2.

Of the 140,000 people who retired in 2020, the average age at retirement was 64.3 years. For men, the average age was 65.4 years and for women the average was 63.7 years.

Graph 3 - Average age at retirement by year of retirement, 2020-21
Year of retirement	Average age at retirement (years)	Average current age (years)	Retirees ('000)
2000	53.5	73.5	207.0
2001	57.0	76.0	56.5
2002	54.9	72.9	82.4
2003	55.5	72.5	65.6
2004	55.1	71.1	94.3
2005	58.6	73.6	145.3
2006	58.0	72.0	65.1
2007	58.0	71.0	66.0
2008	59.8	71.8	97.5
2009	56.3	67.3	136.0
2010	59.2	69.2	244.2
2011	58.2	67.2	107.8
2012	61.5	69.5	144.0
2013	60.3	67.3	165.9
2014	59.7	65.7	209.7
2015	62.3	67.3	246.8
2016	63.6	67.6	156.5
2017	62.5	65.5	204.4
2018	63.4	65.4	166.0
2019	64.3	65.3	190.4
2020	64.3	64.3	141.7

Graph 3 - Average age at retirement by year of retirement, 2020-21

["Year of retirement","Average age at retirement","Average current age","Retirees"]

[["2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020"],[[53.511000000000003],[56.956000000000003],[54.938000000000002],[55.511000000000003],[55.049999999999997],[58.564999999999998],[58.005000000000003],[58.002000000000002],[59.802],[56.286999999999999],[59.238999999999997],[58.234999999999999],[61.537999999999997],[60.256999999999998],[59.691000000000003],[62.334000000000003],[63.558999999999997],[62.481000000000002],[63.362000000000002],[64.274000000000001],[64.301000000000002]],[[73.510999999999996],[75.956000000000003],[72.938000000000002],[72.510999999999996],[71.049999999999997],[73.564999999999998],[72.004999999999995],[71.001999999999995],[71.802000000000007],[67.287000000000006],[69.239000000000004],[67.234999999999999],[69.537999999999997],[67.257000000000005],[65.691000000000003],[67.334000000000003],[67.558999999999997],[65.480999999999995],[65.361999999999995],[65.274000000000001],[64.301000000000002]],[[207.011],[56.506],[82.381],[65.561000000000007],[94.346999999999994],[145.31100000000001],[65.090999999999994],[66.048000000000002],[97.534999999999997],[136.02699999999999],[244.20099999999999],[107.845],[144.03800000000001],[165.898],[209.70699999999999],[246.80000000000001],[156.535],[204.376],[165.95699999999999],[190.39500000000001],[141.69999999999999]]]

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Note: It is important to consider the relative size and structure of the ‘baby boomer’ age cohorts when looking at changes in the number of retirees over time.
Data sourced from Table 14 in Data downloads. State breakdowns and estimates for previous surveys are also available in Table 14.

COVID-19 Impacts

The latest data presented in this release of Retirement and Retirement Intentions was collected between July 2020 and June 2021 and reflects the labour market conditions at that time. ABS advises caution when analysing the reasons why people were retired or could not work during this time. As seen in other ABS releases, the increase in people reporting 'Other' for some questions reflects pandemic-related factors.

Retirement Intentions

People are intending to retire at 65.5 years, which is largely unchanged since 2018-19 (65.6 years).
670,000 people intend to retire in the next 5 years, with 220,000 in the next 2 years.
Of those who intended to retire, 37% (1.7 million) did not know when they would retire from the labour force, down from 40% in 2018-19.

		2018-19	2020-21	Change
People who intend to retire from the labour force
	Intends to retire in 2 years	194,000	223,000	+29,000
	Intends to retire in 5 years	552,000	673,000	+121,000
	Average age intends to retire	65.6 years	65.5 years	-0.1 years
Men who intend to retire from the labour force
	Intends to retire in 2 years	83,000	117,000	+34,000
	Intends to retire in 5 years	271,000	351,000	+81,000
	Average age intends to retire	66.0 years	66.0 years	No Change
Women who intend to retire from the labour force
	Intends to retire in 2 years	111,000	106,000	-4,000
	Intends to retire in 5 years	281,000	322,000	+40,000
	Average age intends to retire	65.1 years	64.9 years	-0.2 years

Graph 4 - People who intend to retire by year of retirement
Year of retirement	Average age intends to retire (years)	Average current age (years)	People who intend to retire ('000)
2021	65.0	65.0	87.7
2022	65.6	64.6	135.6
2023	65.4	63.4	157.8
2024	64.6	61.6	178.1
2025	65.3	61.3	114.0
2026	64.5	59.5	146.9
2027	65.0	59.0	157.5
2028	64.8	57.8	157.7
2029	64.2	56.2	106.0
2030	63.9	54.9	136.3
2031	64.7	54.7	178.6
2032	64.0	53.0	161.5
2033	64.6	52.6	136.3
2034	65.2	52.2	107.1
2035	65.2	51.2	119.2
2036	65.6	50.6	148.8
2037	66.5	50.5	92.0
2038	65.9	48.9	110.3
2039	66.7	48.7	69.0
2040	66.7	47.7	78.7
2041	66.0	46.0	92.6

Graph 4 - People who intend to retire by year of retirement

["Year of retirement","Average age intends to retire","Average current age","People who intend to retire"]

[["2021","2022","2023","2024","2025","2026","2027","2028","2029","2030","2031","2032","2033","2034","2035","2036","2037","2038","2039","2040","2041"],[[65.012],[65.632999999999996],[65.427000000000007],[64.640000000000001],[65.346000000000004],[64.546999999999997],[65.004999999999995],[64.765000000000001],[64.158000000000001],[63.890000000000001],[64.692999999999998],[64.037999999999997],[64.614999999999995],[65.180000000000007],[65.234999999999999],[65.605999999999995],[66.454999999999998],[65.887],[66.728999999999999],[66.679000000000002],[66.049000000000007]],[[65.012],[64.632999999999996],[63.427],[61.640000000000001],[61.345999999999997],[59.546999999999997],[59.005000000000003],[57.765000000000001],[56.158000000000001],[54.890000000000001],[54.692999999999998],[53.037999999999997],[52.615000000000002],[52.18],[51.234999999999999],[50.606000000000002],[50.454999999999998],[48.887],[48.728999999999999],[47.679000000000002],[46.048999999999999]],[[87.653999999999996],[135.61600000000001],[157.768],[178.06399999999999],[113.952],[146.87],[157.54499999999999],[157.66300000000001],[105.955],[136.25],[178.59999999999999],[161.47999999999999],[136.26499999999999],[107.071],[119.224],[148.79499999999999],[91.953000000000003],[110.303],[68.991],[78.662000000000006],[92.555999999999997]]]

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Data sourced from Table 14 in Data downloads. State breakdowns and estimates for previous surveys are also available in Table 14.

People working in Agriculture, forestry and fishing have the highest average age which they intend to retire (67.8 years old).

Graph 5 - Average age intends to retire by industry
	2018-19	2020-21
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	67.5	67.8
Other services	66.5	66.9
Rental, hiring and real estate services	66.1	66.8
Construction	65.0	66.1
Accommodation and food services	67.2	66.1
Arts and recreation services	65.8	66.0
Wholesale trade	65.1	65.9
Transport, postal and warehousing	66.1	65.9
Professional, scientific and technical services	65.4	65.6
Retail trade	65.8	65.5
Health care and social assistance	65.8	65.4
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	64.5	65.3
Manufacturing	65.3	64.9
Administrative and support services	65.7	64.8
Education and training	65.1	64.5
Financial and insurance services	64.8	64.4
Public administration and safety	64.8	64.3
Mining	65.3	63.6
Information Media and telecommunications	67.7	62.1
TOTAL	65.6	65.5

Graph 5 - Average age intends to retire by industry

["","2018-19","2020-21"]

[["Agriculture, forestry and fishing","Other services","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Construction","Accommodation and food services","Arts and recreation services","Wholesale trade","Transport, postal and warehousing","Professional, scientific and technical services","Retail trade","Health care and social assistance","Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Manufacturing","Administrative and support services","Education and training","Financial and insurance services","Public administration and safety","Mining","Information Media and telecommunications","TOTAL"],[[67.5],[66.474000000000004],[66.064999999999998],[64.998000000000005],[67.194000000000003],[65.769000000000005],[65.060000000000002],[66.119],[65.412000000000006],[65.825000000000003],[65.759],[64.5],[65.317999999999998],[65.741],[65.128],[64.775999999999996],[64.786000000000001],[65.292000000000002],[67.662999999999997],[65.602000000000004]],[[67.769999999999996],[66.899000000000001],[66.784000000000006],[66.093000000000004],[66.082999999999998],[65.956999999999994],[65.944999999999993],[65.852999999999994],[65.593999999999994],[65.549000000000007],[65.412999999999997],[65.298000000000002],[64.933999999999997],[64.828999999999994],[64.498000000000005],[64.375],[64.325000000000003],[63.606000000000002],[62.122],[65.477000000000004]]]

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Information Media and telecommunications has one of the smallest populations of people aged 45 years and over who intend to retire, and the changes in estimates for average age intends to retire reflect a high level of sampling variability.
Data sourced from Table 9 in Data downloads. State breakdowns and estimates for previous surveys are also available in Table 9.

Reason ceased last job

In 2020-21, the top 3 reasons retirees ceased their last job were:

Reached retirement age or eligible for superannuation (28%)
Own sickness, injury or disability (13%)
Retrenched, dismissed or no work available (7%).

Retired women were more likely to have left their last job to care for an ill, disabled or elderly person than men (4% compared to 2%).

Graph 6 - Average age at retirement by reason ceased last job
	2014-15 (years)	2016-17 (years)	2018-19 (years)	2020-21 (years)
Retired, lost last job for economic reasons (retrenched)	57.8	58.9	58.6	58.7
Retired, lost last job due to own illness or injury	53.7	54.5	55.0	55.6
Retired, left last job to retire	63.1	63.3	63.6	63.9
Total	54.3	55.2	55.4	56.3

Graph 6 - Average age at retirement by reason ceased last job

["","2014-15","2016-17","2018-19","2020-21"]

[["Retired, lost last job for economic reasons (retrenched)","Retired, lost last job due to own illness or injury","Retired, left last job to retire","Total"],[[57.802999999999997],[53.654000000000003],[63.104999999999997],[54.270000000000003]],[[58.866999999999997],[54.451999999999998],[63.267000000000003],[55.232999999999997]],[[58.643000000000001],[54.950000000000003],[63.615000000000002],[55.396999999999998]],[[58.737000000000002],[55.594000000000001],[63.859000000000002],[56.323999999999998]]]

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Lost last job for economic reasons (retrenched) includes people who were dismissed.
Left last job to retire includes people who left their last job to coincide with their partner's retirement.
Data sourced from Table 5 in Data downloads. State breakdowns and estimates for previous surveys are also available in Table 5.

Income at retirement

Between 2018-19 and 2020-21:

The government pension remained the main source of income for most retirees
More people retired with superannuation as a source of income, but the increase was greater for men than women
Retirees with no personal income dropped to around 19% for women and 3% for men.

In 2020-21:

34% of retired women relied on their partner’s income to meet their living costs at retirement (compared to 7% of retired men)
For people intending to retire, the main factor that will influence their decision about when to retire was financial security.

		Proportion of retirees
		2018-19	2020-21	Change
		Retired men aged 45 years and over
All sources of income included:
	Government pension	53%	53%	No Change
	Superannuation	49%	51%	+2 pts
Main source of income
	Government pension	49%	44%	-5 pts
	Superannuation	31%	35%	+4 pts
	No personal income	6%	3%	-3 pts
		Retired women aged 45 years and over
All sources of income included:
	Government pension	45%	46%	+1 pt
	Superannuation	27%	29%	+2 pts
Main source of income
	Government pension	44%	42%	-1 pts
	Superannuation	18%	19%	No change
	No personal income	29%	19%	-10 pts

Note: Government pension includes all types of government allowance and Superannuation includes all types of annuities and allocated pensions.

Graph 7 - Main source of income at retirement
	2018-19 (%)	2020-21 (%)
Government Pension - Men	49.2	44.5
Government Pension - Women	43.6	42.4
Superannuation - Men	30.8	34.7
Superannuation - Women	18.3	18.7
No personal income - Men	6.4	3.1
No personal income - Women	28.6	18.6

Graph 7 - Main source of income at retirement

["","2018-19","2020-21"]

[["Government Pension - Men","Government Pension - Women","Superannuation - Men","Superannuation - Women","No personal income - Men","No personal income - Women"],[[49.186999999999998],[43.551000000000002],[30.814],[18.283000000000001],[6.4379999999999997],[28.591999999999999]],[[44.472000000000001],[42.351999999999997],[34.731999999999999],[18.739999999999998],[3.1259999999999999],[18.638999999999999]]]

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Data sourced from Table 6 in Data downloads. State breakdowns and estimates for previous surveys are also available in Table 6.

Superannuation

Between 2018-19 and 2020-21, the number of people who reported receiving a lump sum payment from a superannuation scheme increased from 540,000 to 870,000. Most of this increase was observed in people who had not yet retired, doubling from 270,000 in 2018-19 to 560,000 in 2020-21. This increase reflected the early release of superannuation during the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed up to $20,000 to be accessed before retirement by people suffering financial hardship.

Graph 8 - People who received a lump sum payment in the last four years
	Retired ('000)	Not retired ('000)
2014-15	266.7	207.2
2016-17	256.6	211.8
2018-19	265.7	273.1
2020-21	316.5	556.4

Graph 8 - People who received a lump sum payment in the last four years

["","Retired","Not retired"]

[["2014-15","2016-17","2018-19","2020-21"],[[266.69999999999999],[256.60000000000002],[265.69999999999999],[316.5]],[[207.19999999999999],[211.80000000000001],[273.10000000000002],[556.39999999999998]]]

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Data sourced from Table 8 in Data downloads. State breakdowns and estimates for previous surveys are also available in Table 8.

State and territory

Tasmania had the highest proportion of retirees (48.5% of population aged 45 years and over).

Between 2018-19 and 2020-21:

Queensland had the greatest increase in retirees (+76,000)
Australian Capital Territory had the highest increase in proportion of retirees (32% to 37%)
Victoria had the largest decrease in proportion of retirees (40% to 39%).

	People aged 45 years and over
	Retirees	Proportion retired	Change in proportion since 2018-19
New South Wales	1.3 million	41%	No Change
Victoria	1.0 million	39%	-1 pt
Queensland	830,000	40%	+1 pt
South Australia	350,000	45%	No Change
Western Australia	390,000	37%	+3 pts
Tasmania	120,000	48%	+1 pt
Northern Territory	16,000	23%	+4 pts
Aust. Capital Territory	57,000	37%	+4 pts

Graph 9 - Proportion of retirees by state and territory
	2018-19 (%)	2020-21 (%)
NSW	40.5	40.6
Vic	39.8	39.1
Qld	39.4	39.9
SA	45.0	44.6
WA	34.0	37.0
Tas	47.2	48.5
NT	19.4	23.4
ACT	32.3	36.6

Graph 9 - Proportion of retirees by state and territory

["","2018-19","2020-21"]

[["NSW","Vic","Qld","SA","WA","Tas","NT","ACT"],[[40.5],[39.799999999999997],[39.399999999999999],[45],[34],[47.200000000000003],[19.399999999999999],[32.299999999999997]],[[40.600000000000001],[39.100000000000001],[39.899999999999999],[44.600000000000001],[37],[48.5],[23.399999999999999],[36.600000000000001]]]

[]

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Data sourced from Table 13 in Data downloads. Estimates for previous surveys are also available in Table 13.

Retirement and Retirement Intentions microdata in DataLab

Retirement and Retirement Intentions microdata from 2014-15 to 2020-21 is available in ABS DataLab for the first time, released as a supplementary file for the Longitudinal Labour Force (LLFS) microdata. All existing users of the LLFS microdata will automatically get access to the additional file and new users can apply for access to both files.

A detailed data item list for the Retirement and Retirment Intentions microdata is available in Microdata and TableBuilder: Retirement and Retirement Intentions.

Data downloads

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Tables

Data files

Table 1. Retirement and intentions summary - Nov 1997 to 2020-21
Download xlsx [2.33 MB]
Table 2. Retirement and intentions - Time series, May 1980 to 2020-21
Download xlsx [2.22 MB]
Table 3. Characteristics of retirees
Download xlsx [5.19 MB]
Table 4. Previous job of retirees
Download xlsx [3.68 MB]
Table 5. Reason why retirees ceased last job
Download xlsx [1.37 MB]
Table 6. Sources of income in retirement
Download xlsx [1.81 MB]
Table 7. Meeting living costs in retirement
Download xlsx [5.3 MB]
Table 8. Superannuation and lump sum payments
Download xlsx [2.59 MB]
Table 9. Age people intend to retire
Download xlsx [8.1 MB]
Table 10. Expected income at retirement
Download xlsx [2.99 MB]
Table 11. Transition to retirement plans
Download xlsx [904.78 KB]
Table 12. Returning to work after retirement
Download xlsx [778.49 KB]
Table 13. Populations by state and territory
Download xlsx [3.46 MB]
Table 14. Retirement and intentions - Year of retirement, 1985 - 2045
Download xlsx [8.44 MB]

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6238.0.

Prior statistics were also published in:

Employment Arrangements, Retirement and Superannuation (6361.0), 2007.
- State Tables (6361.0.55.003).
- Datacubes (6361.0.55.004).
Employment Arrangements and Superannuation (6361.0), 2000.
Superannuation: Coverage and Financial Characteristics (6360.0), 2000.
Superannuation (6319.0), 1974 to 1995.
Persons Who Have Left The Labour Force (6267.0), 1985 to 1994.
Persons Who Intended To Retire From Full-Time Work (6258.0), 1984.

Methodology

Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia methodology, 2020-21 financial year

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APA

Citation

Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia

APA

Citation

Key statistics

Retirement

COVID-19 Impacts

Retirement Intentions

Reason ceased last job

Income at retirement

Superannuation

State and territory

Retirement and Retirement Intentions microdata in DataLab

Data downloads

Tables

Table 1. Retirement and intentions summary - Nov 1997 to 2020-21

Table 2. Retirement and intentions - Time series, May 1980 to 2020-21

Table 3. Characteristics of retirees

Table 4. Previous job of retirees

Table 5. Reason why retirees ceased last job

Table 6. Sources of income in retirement

Table 7. Meeting living costs in retirement

Table 8. Superannuation and lump sum payments

Table 9. Age people intend to retire

Table 10. Expected income at retirement

Table 11. Transition to retirement plans

Table 12. Returning to work after retirement

Table 13. Populations by state and territory

Table 14. Retirement and intentions - Year of retirement, 1985 - 2045

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

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