Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia, 2022-23 financial year

Retirement

In 2022-23, 54% of retirees were women.
The population of retired men increased more than women.
On average, women retire sooner than men. However, women are retiring later than in previous years.

		2020-21	2022-23	Change
People aged 45 years and over
	Retirees	4.1 million	4.2 million	+0.1 million
	Proportion retired	40%	40%	No Change
	Average age of retirement	56.3 years	56.9 years	+0.6 years
Men aged 45 years and over
	Retirees	1.8 million	1.9 million	+0.1 million
	Proportion retired	37%	37%	No Change
	Average age of retirement	59.3 years	59.4 years	+0.1 years
Women aged 45 years and over
	Retirees	2.3 million	2.3 million	No Change
	Proportion retired	43%	42%	-1 pts
	Average age of retirement	54.0 years	54.7 years	+0.7 years

Graph 1 - Age distribution of retirees aged 45 years and over, 2022-23

Graph 1 - Age distribution of retirees aged 45 years and over, 2022-23
	Men - Current age (%)	Men - Age at retirement (%)	Women - Current age (%)	Women - Age at retirement (%)
Under 30	0	2.7	0	6.2
30-39	0	2.1	0	7.2
40-44	0	3.8	0	3.8
45-49	2.6	5.4	1.6	7.8
50-54	2.6	8.6	3	12.7
55-59	4.9	16.7	5.4	18.3
60-64	10.3	27.1	12.1	25.5
65-69	17.9	22.6	18.5	13.2
70-74	21.2	7.6	20.6	4
75-79	20.4	2.7	18.9	0.9
80 and over	20.2	0.7	19.8	0.4

Graph 1 - Age distribution of retirees aged 45 years and over, 2022-23

["","Men - Current age","Men - Age at retirement","Women - Current age","Women - 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],[2.6000000000000001],[2.6000000000000001],[4.9000000000000004],[10.300000000000001],[17.899999999999999],[21.199999999999999],[20.399999999999999],[20.199999999999999]],[[2.7000000000000002],[2.1000000000000001],[3.7999999999999998],[5.4000000000000004],[8.5999999999999996],[16.699999999999999],[27.100000000000001],[22.600000000000001],[7.5999999999999996],[2.7000000000000002],[0.69999999999999996]],[[0],[0],[0],[1.6000000000000001],[3],[5.4000000000000004],[12.1],[18.5],[20.600000000000001],[18.899999999999999],[19.800000000000001]],[[6.2000000000000002],[7.2000000000000002],[3.7999999999999998],[7.7999999999999998],[12.699999999999999],[18.300000000000001],[25.5],[13.199999999999999],[4],[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 2022-23

Graph 2 - Average age at retirement (of all retirees), Sep 1983 to 2022-23
	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-83	47.4		2,155.4
Nov-86	47.8		2,395.0
Nov-89	47.5		2,631.9
Oct-92	47.5		2,800.1
Nov-94	47.9		3,022.0
Nov-97	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
2022-23		56.9		4,181.8

Graph 2 - Average age at retirement (of all retirees), Sep 1983 to 2022-23

["","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-83","Nov-86","Nov-89","Oct-92","Nov-94","Nov-97","2004-05","2006-07","2008-09","2010-11","2012-13","2014-15","2016-17","2018-19","2020-21","2022-23"],[[47.399999999999999],[47.799999999999997],[47.5],[47.5],[47.899999999999999],[47.799999999999997],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null]],[[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[50.5],[52],[52.200000000000003],[52.899999999999999],[52.899999999999999],[53.700000000000003],[54.299999999999997],[55.200000000000003],[55.399999999999999],[56.299999999999997],[56.899999999999999]],[[2155.4000000000001],[2395],[2631.9000000000001],[2800.0999999999999],[3022],[3223.8000000000002],[null],[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],[4181.8000000000002]]]

[]

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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 130,000 people who retired in 2022, the average age at retirement was 64.8 years. For men, the average age was 66.9 years and for women the average was 63.2 years.

Graph 3 - Average age at retirement by year of retirement, 2022-23

Graph 3 - Average age at retirement by year of retirement, 2022-23
Year of retirement	Average age at retirement (years)	Average current age (years)	Retirees ('000)
2000	54.4	76.4	138.5
2001	53.7	74.7	86.8
2002	55.3	75.3	168.5
2003	54.3	73.3	38.3
2004	56.8	74.8	64.4
2005	57.0	74.0	79.3
2006	59.0	75.0	76.9
2007	60.1	75.1	152.9
2008	56.9	70.9	78.8
2009	59.9	72.9	123.2
2010	58.1	70.1	166.4
2011	59.7	70.7	120.3
2012	61.2	71.2	231.1
2013	60.2	69.2	116.4
2014	60.7	68.7	183.6
2015	63.2	70.2	150.2
2016	62.3	68.3	189.9
2017	63.0	68.0	189.5
2018	61.7	65.7	182.2
2019	63.9	66.9	177.3
2020	63.0	65.0	197.1
2021	64.4	65.4	212.3
2022	64.8	64.8	127.6

Graph 3 - Average age at retirement by year of retirement, 2022-23

["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","2021","2022"],[[54.399999999999999],[53.700000000000003],[55.299999999999997],[54.299999999999997],[56.799999999999997],[57],[59],[60.100000000000001],[56.899999999999999],[59.899999999999999],[58.100000000000001],[59.700000000000003],[61.200000000000003],[60.200000000000003],[60.700000000000003],[63.200000000000003],[62.299999999999997],[63],[61.700000000000003],[63.899999999999999],[63],[64.400000000000006],[64.799999999999997]],[[76.400000000000006],[74.700000000000003],[75.299999999999997],[73.299999999999997],[74.799999999999997],[74],[75],[75.099999999999994],[70.900000000000006],[72.900000000000006],[70.099999999999994],[70.700000000000003],[71.200000000000003],[69.200000000000003],[68.700000000000003],[70.200000000000003],[68.299999999999997],[68],[65.700000000000003],[66.900000000000006],[65],[65.400000000000006],[64.799999999999997]],[[138.5],[86.799999999999997],[168.5],[38.299999999999997],[64.400000000000006],[79.299999999999997],[76.900000000000006],[152.90000000000001],[78.799999999999997],[123.2],[166.40000000000001],[120.3],[231.09999999999999],[116.40000000000001],[183.59999999999999],[150.19999999999999],[189.90000000000001],[189.5],[182.19999999999999],[177.30000000000001],[197.09999999999999],[212.30000000000001],[127.59999999999999]]]

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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.

Retirement Intentions

People are intending to retire at 65.4 years, which has decreased slightly from 2020-21 (65.5 years) and 2018-19 (65.6 years).
710,000 people intend to retire in the next 5 years, with 226,000 in the next 2 years.
Of those who intended to retire, 38% (1.7 million) did not know when they would retire from the labour force, up from 37% in 2020-21.

		2020-21	2022-23	Change
People who intend to retire from the labour force
	Intends to retire in 2 years	223,000	226,000	+3,000
	Intends to retire in 5 years	673,000	710,000	+37,000
	Average age intends to retire	65.5 years	65.4 years	-0.1 years
Men who intend to retire from the labour force
	Intends to retire in 2 years	117,000	133,000	+16,000
	Intends to retire in 5 years	351,000	371,000	+20,000
	Average age intends to retire	66.0 years	65.7 years	-0.3 years
Women who intend to retire from the labour force
	Intends to retire in 2 years	106,000	94,000	-12,000
	Intends to retire in 5 years	322,000	339,000	+17,000
	Average age intends to retire	64.9 years	65.1 years	+0.2 years

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

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)
2023	64.2	64.2	90.9
2024	66.3	65.3	135.3
2025	65.4	63.4	151.3
2026	65.2	62.2	143.4
2027	64.4	60.4	188.7
2028	64.8	59.8	163.3
2029	64.7	58.7	169.0
2030	63.6	56.6	181.4
2031	63.5	55.5	143.2
2032	64.7	55.7	145.4
2033	64.6	54.6	150.2
2034	65.3	54.3	104.6
2035	64.8	52.8	125.3
2036	64.7	51.7	124.7
2037	64.8	50.8	135.8
2038	65.2	50.2	119.8
2039	66.2	50.2	99.0
2040	66.5	49.5	79.6
2041	66.8	48.8	70.4
2042	67.1	48.1	84.3
2043	67.3	47.3	107.4
2044	69.0	48.0	44.3

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"]

[["2023","2024","2025","2026","2027","2028","2029","2030","2031","2032","2033","2034","2035","2036","2037","2038","2039","2040","2041","2042","2043","2044"],[[64.200000000000003],[66.299999999999997],[65.400000000000006],[65.200000000000003],[64.400000000000006],[64.799999999999997],[64.700000000000003],[63.600000000000001],[63.5],[64.700000000000003],[64.599999999999994],[65.299999999999997],[64.799999999999997],[64.700000000000003],[64.799999999999997],[65.200000000000003],[66.200000000000003],[66.5],[66.799999999999997],[67.099999999999994],[67.299999999999997],[69]],[[64.200000000000003],[65.299999999999997],[63.399999999999999],[62.200000000000003],[60.399999999999999],[59.799999999999997],[58.700000000000003],[56.600000000000001],[55.5],[55.700000000000003],[54.600000000000001],[54.299999999999997],[52.799999999999997],[51.700000000000003],[50.799999999999997],[50.200000000000003],[50.200000000000003],[49.5],[48.799999999999997],[48.100000000000001],[47.299999999999997],[48]],[[90.900000000000006],[135.30000000000001],[151.30000000000001],[143.40000000000001],[188.69999999999999],[163.30000000000001],[169],[181.40000000000001],[143.19999999999999],[145.40000000000001],[150.19999999999999],[104.59999999999999],[125.3],[124.7],[135.80000000000001],[119.8],[99],[79.599999999999994],[70.400000000000006],[84.299999999999997],[107.40000000000001],[44.299999999999997]]]

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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 (68.3 years old).

Graph 5 - Average age intends to retire by industry

Graph 5 - Average age intends to retire by industry
	2020-21	2022-23
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	67.8	68.3
Rental, hiring and real estate services	66.8	67.1
Manufacturing	64.9	66.1
Wholesale trade	65.9	65.9
Administrative and support services	64.8	65.9
Health care and social assistance	65.4	65.9
Retail trade	65.5	65.8
Accommodation and food services	66.1	65.7
Construction	66.1	65.2
Other services	66.9	65.2
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	65.3	65.1
Transport, postal and warehousing	65.9	65.1
Professional, scientific and technical services	65.6	65.0
Education and training	64.5	65.0
Arts and recreation services	66.0	64.9
Public administration and safety	64.3	64.5
Financial and insurance services	64.4	64.3
Information Media and telecommunications	62.1	64.0
Mining	63.6	63.7
TOTAL	65.5	65.4

Graph 5 - Average age intends to retire by industry

["","2020-21","2022-23"]

[["Agriculture, forestry and fishing","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Manufacturing","Wholesale trade","Administrative and support services","Health care and social assistance","Retail trade","Accommodation and food services","Construction","Other services","Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Transport, postal and warehousing","Professional, scientific and technical services","Education and training","Arts and recreation services","Public administration and safety","Financial and insurance services","Information Media and telecommunications","Mining","TOTAL"],[[67.799999999999997],[66.799999999999997],[64.900000000000006],[65.900000000000006],[64.799999999999997],[65.400000000000006],[65.5],[66.099999999999994],[66.099999999999994],[66.900000000000006],[65.299999999999997],[65.900000000000006],[65.599999999999994],[64.5],[66],[64.299999999999997],[64.400000000000006],[62.100000000000001],[63.600000000000001],[65.5]],[[68.299999999999997],[67.099999999999994],[66.099999999999994],[65.900000000000006],[65.900000000000006],[65.900000000000006],[65.799999999999997],[65.700000000000003],[65.200000000000003],[65.200000000000003],[65.099999999999994],[65.099999999999994],[65],[65],[64.900000000000006],[64.5],[64.299999999999997],[64],[63.700000000000003],[65.400000000000006]]]

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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 2022-23, the top 3 reasons retirees ceased their last job were:

Reached retirement age or eligible for superannuation (31%)
Own sickness, injury or disability (13%)
Retrenched, dismissed or no work available (5%).

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 3%).

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

Graph 6 - Average age at retirement by reason ceased last job
	2016-17 (years)	2018-19 (years)	2020-21 (years)	2022-23 (years)
Retired, lost last job for economic reasons (retrenched)	58.9	58.6	58.7	60.4
Retired, lost last job due to own illness or injury	54.5	55.0	55.6	56.9
Retired, left last job to retire	63.3	63.6	63.9	64.0
Total	55.2	55.4	56.3	56.9

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

["","2016-17","2018-19","2020-21","2022-23"]

[["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"],[[58.899999999999999],[54.5],[63.299999999999997],[55.200000000000003]],[[58.600000000000001],[55],[63.600000000000001],[55.399999999999999]],[[58.700000000000003],[55.600000000000001],[63.899999999999999],[56.299999999999997]],[[60.399999999999999],[56.899999999999999],[64],[56.899999999999999]]]

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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 2020-21 and 2022-23:

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 women than men
Retirees with no personal income dropped to around 18% for women, but increased to 4% for men.

In 2022-23:

31% of retired women relied on their partner’s income to meet their living costs at retirement (compared to 8% 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
		2020-21	2022-23	Change
		Retired men aged 45 years and over
All sources of income included:
	Government pension	53%	54%	+1 pt
	Superannuation	51%	48%	-3 pts
Main source of income
	Government pension	44%	47%	+3 pts
	Superannuation	35%	33%	-2 pts
	No personal income	3%	4%	+1 pts
		Retired women aged 45 years and over
All sources of income included:
	Government pension	46%	45%	-1 pt
	Superannuation	29%	33%	+4 pts
Main source of income
	Government pension	42%	41%	-1 pts
	Superannuation	19%	21%	+2 pts
	No personal income	19%	18%	-1 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

Graph 7 - Main source of income at retirement
	2020-21 (%)	2022-23 (%)
Government Pension - Men	44.5	46.6
Government Pension - Women	42.4	40.5
Superannuation - Men	34.7	33.2
Superannuation - Women	18.7	21.4
No personal income - Men	3.1	4.4
No personal income - Women	18.6	18.4

Graph 7 - Main source of income at retirement

["","2020-21","2022-23"]

[["Government Pension - Men","Government Pension - Women","Superannuation - Men","Superannuation - Women","No personal income - Men","No personal income - Women"],[[44.5],[42.399999999999999],[34.700000000000003],[18.699999999999999],[3.1000000000000001],[18.600000000000001]],[[46.600000000000001],[40.5],[33.200000000000003],[21.399999999999999],[4.4000000000000004],[18.399999999999999]]]

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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 2020-21 and 2022-23, the number of people who reported receiving a lump sum payment from a superannuation scheme increased from 870,000 to 880,000. The sustained increase from 2018-19 reflects 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

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
2022-23	333.6	547.8

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","2022-23"],[[266.69999999999999],[256.60000000000002],[265.69999999999999],[316.5],[333.60000000000002]],[[207.19999999999999],[211.80000000000001],[273.10000000000002],[556.39999999999998],[547.79999999999995]]]

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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

South Australia had the highest proportion of retirees (46% of population aged 45 years and over).

Between 2020-21 and 2022-23:

Queensland had the greatest increase in retirees (+32,000)
South Australia had the highest increase in proportion of retirees (45% to 46%)
Tasmania had the largest decrease in proportion of retirees (49% to 46%).

	People aged 45 years and over
	Retirees	Proportion retired	Change in proportion since 2020-21
New South Wales	1.3 million	40%	-1 pt
Victoria	1.0 million	39%	No Change
Queensland	860,000	40%	No Change
South Australia	370,000	46%	+1pt
Western Australia	410,000	36%	-1 pts
Tasmania	120,000	46%	-3 pts
Northern Territory	16,000	22%	-2 pts
Aust. Capital Territory	60,000	37%	No Change

Graph 9 - Proportion of retirees by state and territory

Graph 9 - Proportion of retirees by state and territory
	2020-21 (%)	2022-23 (%)
NSW	40.6	40.1
Vic	39.1	38.8
Qld	39.9	39.8
SA	44.6	45.9
WA	37.0	36.1
Tas	48.5	45.5
NT	23.4	21.9
ACT	36.6	37.2

Graph 9 - Proportion of retirees by state and territory

["","2020-21","2022-23"]

[["NSW","Vic","Qld","SA","WA","Tas","NT","ACT"],[[40.600000000000001],[39.100000000000001],[39.899999999999999],[44.600000000000001],[37],[48.5],[23.399999999999999],[36.600000000000001]],[[40.100000000000001],[38.799999999999997],[39.799999999999997],[45.899999999999999],[36.100000000000001],[45.5],[21.899999999999999],[37.200000000000003]]]

[]

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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 2022-23 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 Retirement Intentions microdata is available in Microdata and TableBuilder: Retirement and Retirement Intentions.

Data downloads

Download all (55 MB)

Tables

Data files

Table 1. Retirement and intentions summary - Nov 1997 to 2022-23
Download xlsx [2.57 MB]
Table 2. Retirement and intentions - Time series, May 1980 to 2022-23
Download xlsx [2.36 MB]
Table 3. Characteristics of retirees
Download xlsx [6.5 MB]
Table 4. Previous job of retirees
Download xlsx [4.59 MB]
Table 5. Reasons why retirees ceased last job
Download xlsx [1.7 MB]
Table 6. Sources of income in retirement
Download xlsx [2.25 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.

APA

Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia

APA

Key statistics

Retirement

Graph 1 - Age distribution of retirees aged 45 years and over, 2022-23

Graph 1 - Age distribution of retirees aged 45 years and over, 2022-23

Graph 2 - Average age at retirement (of all retirees), Sep 1983 to 2022-23

Graph 2 - Average age at retirement (of all retirees), Sep 1983 to 2022-23

Graph 3 - Average age at retirement by year of retirement, 2022-23

Graph 3 - Average age at retirement by year of retirement, 2022-23

Retirement Intentions

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

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

Graph 5 - Average age intends to retire by industry

Graph 5 - Average age intends to retire by industry

Reason ceased last job

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

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

Income at retirement

Graph 7 - Main source of income at retirement

Graph 7 - Main source of income at retirement

Superannuation

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

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

State and territory

Graph 9 - Proportion of retirees by state and territory

Graph 9 - Proportion of retirees by state and territory

Retirement and Retirement Intentions microdata in DataLab

Data downloads

Tables

Table 1. Retirement and intentions summary - Nov 1997 to 2022-23

Table 2. Retirement and intentions - Time series, May 1980 to 2022-23

Table 3. Characteristics of retirees

Table 4. Previous job of retirees

Table 5. Reasons why retirees ceased last job

Table 6. Sources of income in retirement

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Media releases

Australians still intending to retire between 65 and 66

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