Retirees finally have a little spare change in their pockets, with the costs for a couple living comfortably in retirement decreasing slightly over the December 2008 quarter.
According to the Westpac/Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) Retirement Standard research report released yesterday, for those with a comfortable lifestyle in retirement costs fell by 0.3 per cent from the September 2008 quarter but were still 3 per cent higher than the December 2007 quarter.
Figures showed that for a couple to live comfortably in retirement they needed to spend $50,414 a year, while couples seeking a modest retirement lifestyle needed to spend $27,366 a year.
"It's important that retirees understand what they're spending and where they're spending, and that they get the most out of the government safety nets that are available," ASFA chief executive Pauline Vamos said.
"While it's good to see that for the moment retirees can relax a little bit, we're still in a volatile market environment, we're still in a time of unpredictability, and while we hope that we've reached rock bottom, we don't know so caution must still be exercised."
According to the Westpac/ASFA report, between the September and December quarters of 2008, while retirees faced a 1.2 per cent decrease in the cost of health services and a 6.9 per cent decrease in transportation costs, the cost of food still rose 2 per cent and recreational goods and services still rose 0.5 per cent.
This is important to note as spending on food, health, transportation and recreation form a large part of retiree budgets, the report said.
