Empty nest
Households often downsize their spending when children leave.
SourceMoneySmart (ASIC)
Dusty Cedar row · ages 52 to 61
Households often downsize their spending when children leave.
Super balances often grow fastest in the last decade before retirement.
More time and income for travel.
Needs change as dependants leave and wealth grows.
Care for ageing parents may peak.
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Figures from published research for the age groups that cover 54–55. Sources often publish wider age groups, so the group shown is the one that includes these ages. They describe groups of people, not any one person. Checked 23 October 2026.
Income for July 2020 to June 2021. Census 2021 linked with tax and payment records. The ABS cautions that incomes for older age groups are likely under-recorded.
August 2025. Employees. Employee earnings, not household income.
30 June 2024. Per account, not per person, because many people hold more than one account. Median is the middle account; average is pulled up by large balances.
2019–20 financial year. By age of the household's reference person, as shown in the ABS graph. The ABS page does not say whether the values are averages or medians, so treat them as indicative.
2019–20. Share of all recent first home buyers in this age group (age of the household reference person). It is not the share of the age group who buy.
Census 2021. Share of people in the age group who lived alone.
2022. Share of people in the age group who provide informal care. About 11.9% of all Australians living in households (3.0 million) were carers.
2022. Share of people in the age group with disability. Overall 21.4% of Australians (5.5 million) had disability in 2022.
2024–25. Share of retirees aged 45 and over who retired at this age.
2024–25. People aged 45 and over who have not yet retired and intend to.
Dollar figures are in the dollars of the year shown. Average and median are not the same: the median is the middle value. Not financial advice.
Illustrative gross incomes: lower about $50,000, middle about $100,000, higher about $200,000 a year. For ages under 18, read these as household incomes. For retirement ages, read them as lower, middle and higher income and savings. They are examples, not official brackets.
Costs fall as the family leaves home, so extra repayments or super are possible.
Strong saving years. Retirement date and lifestyle begin to take shape.
Wealth management and estate planning take more attention.