How do I make the most of my retirement income?

Making the most of retirement income depends less on how much you have than on how you use it.

Many women with super, investments and property will be comfortable in retirement whatever they do. The opportunity is to be more than comfortable, from the very same assets, through how you draw on them.

Most people retire with enough, and leave some of it unused

The Australian Government's Retirement Income Review found that most people reach the end of life with the bulk of their retirement savings unspent. That cuts two ways. It means most people have enough — a reassuring finding. It also means a great deal of income that could have funded a fuller retirement was left unused.

This holds even where money is kept deliberately, to pass on. The Productivity Commission found that inheritances in Australia typically arrive when the recipient is around 50 — an age, it noted, by which they do less to open up the choices that matter most, like career, home and family.

Support given earlier, or differently, can be worth more to the people who receive it. When and how wealth is passed on can be considered in the same way as how it is best drawn down.

Making the most of it comes down to how you combine, sequence and time your income

It comes down to three things, used together:

Combination — the same money is taxed differently depending on whether it sits in super, in shares in your own name, in property, or in your home. Where it sits changes how much of it reaches you as income, and how it counts towards things like the Age Pension.
Sequence — the order you draw on each source is not fixed, and it makes a difference. A considered order can mean less tax across the years, and savings that last longer.
Timing — money held in super is taxed lightly and keeps earning while it stays there. How long you leave it, and when you draw on it relative to your other savings, can change what you have over time.

None of these changes what you hold. Each changes what it does for you.

There are specific things you can do, and the timing of each matters

Combining, sequencing and timing are the principles. In practice, they show up as specific, recognised actions — and you may have come across some already. For each, the conditions that make it worthwhile come and go, so when you act changes how much it does for you. This is where a professional helps most: knowing not just what is possible, but when it works best for you.

The downsizer contribution — from age 55, money from selling your home can go into super, outside the usual caps. A professional can advise on when to do it, relative to the sale and to any other contributions.
Re-contribution — withdrawing an amount and putting it back can change the tax treatment of what your beneficiaries eventually receive. It has conditions, and a window worth getting right.
Carry-forward contributions — if you haven't used your full before-tax contribution limit in recent years, there can be room to contribute more in a single year. Whether it applies, and when, depends on your balance and history.
Starting a retirement income stream — moving super from accumulation into the retirement phase changes how its earnings are taxed. When you make that move matters.

None of these is a decision to make alone, and none suits everyone. They are reasons the timing is worth a conversation.with a professional.

It matters most when there's less room to move

Some women will be comfortable in retirement whatever they do. For others, there is enough for a steady retirement rather than a generous one. These choices help everyone, but they are particularly helpful where you really need your assets to work hard for you.

The same assets, drawn well, can turn a careful retirement into a relaxed one.

You have already done the hard part: you've built the assets. The next step is using them well.

The Retirement Income Map sets out where your retirement income can come from, and how to make the most of it. From there, a financial adviser can show you how to combine and time your income over a long retirement — in real numbers, not general terms.

Open the Retirement Income Map

When you want to see a detailed view of how your own income sources can best combine, Her Best Move Now can personally introduce you to a trusted financial adviser.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where will my retirement income come from?
For most women with assets, it comes from a combination: superannuation drawn as an income stream, investment income from shares or property, in some cases continued work by choice or the proceeds of realising an asset, and for some, a part Age Pension. How those sources combine matters as much as the total.

Can I have enough, and still not make the most of it?
Yes, and it is common. The Australian Government's Retirement Income Review found most people finish life with their retirement savings largely unspent, and peer-reviewed research on retiree spending finds this is most pronounced among those who have the most. The shortfall is rarely in the assets — it is in how confidently they are turned into income.

What does it mean to make the most of, or optimise, retirement income?
It means arranging what you already have to produce more: combining your sources, drawing on them in a considered order, and timing when each begins. The same assets can fund a fuller retirement, or a more modest one, depending on how those three are handled.

Is leaving an inheritance the best way to support my family?
It is one way, and worth considering further. The Productivity Commission found inheritances in Australia usually arrive when the recipient is around 50, by which age the inheritance does less to open up choices like career, home and family. Support given earlier, or in another form, can be worth more to those who receive it — which makes the timing of giving a part of the same planning, not separate from it.

Why does the order I draw on my savings matter?
The order in which income sources are used can affect how much tax is paid over the years and how long a portfolio lasts, particularly in the early years of retirement, when the order in which investment returns arrive has an outsized effect (an effect researchers call sequence-of-returns risk). The order that suits you depends on your own assets and needs.

Can I put money from selling a property into super?
The downsizer rules allow a person aged 55 or over to contribute up to $300,000 from the sale of their home into super (up to $600,000 for a couple), outside the usual contribution caps. Conditions apply, so the specifics are worth confirming for your situation.

Sources:
Australian Government, Retirement Income Review (Final Report, 2020). Australian Government, Productivity Commission, Wealth Transfers and their Economic Effects (2021). Underspending among wealthier households: D. Blanchett & M. Finke, "Retirees Spend Lifetime Income, Not Savings," Financial Planning Review (2025); M. Browning et al. (2016).