Retiree statistics and the retirement intentions of people aged 45 years and over
In 2024-25:
Microdata from the Retirement and Retirement Intentions survey for 2014-15 to 2024-25 will be released in TableBuilder and DataLab (as a supplementary file to the Longitudinal Labour Force) on 19 November 2025. For more information, refer to Microdata and TableBuilder: Retirement and Retirement Intentions.
In 2024-25, 156,000 people aged 45 and over retired. Of these, 55% were women. On average, women retire at an earlier age than men.
The average age both men and women are retiring is continuing to increase.
The average age at retirement for people aged 45 years and over who retired in 2024-25 was 63.8 years. For men, the average age was 64.9 years and for women the average age was 62.7 years. The average age at retirement for all retired people aged 45 years and over was 57.3 (60 for men, and 55.2 for women).
| 2022-23 | 2024-25 | Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People aged 45 years and over | ||||
| Retirees | 4.2 million | 4.5 million | +0.3 million | |
| Proportion retired | 40% | 42% | +2.0 pts | |
| Average age of retirement | 56.9 years | 57.3 years | +0.4 years | |
| Men aged 45 years and over | ||||
| Retirees | 1.9 million | 2.0 million | +0.1 million | |
| Proportion retired | 37% | 40% | +3.0 pts | |
| Average age of retirement | 59.4 years | 60.0 years | +0.6 years | |
| Women aged 45 years and over | ||||
| Retirees | 2.3 million | 2.5 million | +0.2 million | |
| Proportion retired | 42% | 44% | +2.0 pts | |
| Average age of retirement | 54.7 years | 55.2 years | +0.5 years | |
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.
The average age people aged 45 years and over intend to retire was 65.6 years, a slight increase slightly from 2022-23 (65.4 years).
Just over 800,000 people intend to retire in the next 5 years, and 294,000 in the next 2 years. Of those who intend to retire, 40% (1.9 million) did not know when they would retire from the labour force, up from 38% in 2022-23.
| 2022-23 | 2024-25 | Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People who intend to retire from the labour force | ||||
| Intends to retire in the next 2 years | 226,000 | 294,000 | +68,000 | |
| Intends to retire in the next 5 years | 710,000 | 806,000 | +96,000 | |
| Average age intends to retire | 65.4 years | 65.6 years | +0.2 years | |
| Men who intend to retire from the labour force | ||||
| Intends to retire in the next 2 years | 133,000 | 157,000 | +24,000 | |
| Intends to retire in the next 5 years | 371,000 | 410,000 | +39,000 | |
| Average age intends to retire | 65.7 years | 65.9 years | +0.2 years | |
| Women who intend to retire from the labour force | ||||
| Intends to retire in the next 2 years | 94,000 | 137,000 | +43,000 | |
| Intends to retire in the next 5 years | 339,000 | 396,000 | +57,000 | |
| Average age intends to retire | 65.1 years | 65.3 years | +0.2 years | |
People working in Agriculture, forestry and fishing have, on average, the highest intended retirement age (68.9 years old).
In 2024-25, the top 3 reasons retirees ceased their last job were:
Retirees who left their last job due to sickness, injury or disability had the lowest retirement age, on average.
Note:
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.
In 2024-25, the Government pension continued to be the most common source of income for retirees. 30% of retired women relied on their partner’s income to meet their living costs at retirement (compared to 9% of retired men). For people intending to retire, the main factor influencing their decision about when to retire was financial security.
Retirees are increasingly relying on superannuation as their main source of income. Between 2014-15 and 2024-25, the proportion of retired people with superannuation as their main source of income has increased from 20% to 28%.
| Proportion of retirees | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 2024-25 | Change | ||
| Retired men aged 45 years and over | ||||
| All sources of income included: | ||||
| Government pension | 54% | 49% | -5 pts | |
| Superannuation | 48% | 48% | No Change | |
| Main source of income | ||||
| Government pension | 47% | 42% | -5 pts | |
| Superannuation | 33% | 35% | +2 pts | |
| No personal income | 4% | 5% | +1 pts | |
| Retired women aged 45 years and over | ||||
| All sources of income included: | ||||
| Government pension | 45% | 46% | +1 pts | |
| Superannuation | 33% | 34% | +1 pts | |
| Main source of income | ||||
| Government pension | 41% | 41% | No Change | |
| Superannuation | 21% | 23% | +2 pts | |
| No personal income | 18% | 17% | -1 pts | |
Note: Government pension includes all types of government allowance and Superannuation includes all types of annuities and allocated pensions.
Between 2022-23 and 2024-25, the number of people who reported receiving a lump sum payment from a superannuation scheme increased from 881,000 to 922,000. The increase from 2018-19 to 2020-21 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.
In 2024-25, Tasmania had the highest proportion of retirees (50% of people aged 45 years and over). In contrast, less than one third (31%) of people aged 45 years and over in the Northern Territory were retired.
Between 2022-23 and 2024-25, Queensland had the largest increase in retirees (+89,000).
| People aged 45 years and over | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Retirees | Proportion retired | Change in proportion since 2022-23 | |
| New South Wales | 1.4 million | 41% | +1 pts |
| Victoria | 1.1 million | 40% | +1 pts |
| Queensland | 949,000 | 43% | +3 pts |
| South Australia | 384,000 | 48% | +2 pts |
| Western Australia | 456,000 | 40% | +4 pts |
| Tasmania | 130,000 | 50% | +4 pts |
| Northern Territory | 21,000 | 31% | +9 pts |
| Aust. Capital Territory | 70,000 | 42% | +5 pts |
This release previously used catalogue number 6238.0.