Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has long been one of the first names investors think about when it comes to ASX dividends.

It is large, profitable, widely held, and has a long history of paying fully franked dividends.

But how much would someone need invested in ASX shares like CBA to make $50,000 a year in passive income?

Let’s take a look.

Start with the income target

A $50,000 annual passive income target works out to about $4,165 per month.

That is a sizeable amount of money. It could help cover living costs, mortgage repayments, rent, insurance, holidays, or retirement spending.

The amount needed to generate that income depends on one key number: the dividend yield.

If a portfolio of ASX dividend shares produced an average yield of 3%, an investor would need around $1.67 million to generate $50,000 a year.

At a 4% yield, the required portfolio falls to $1.25 million.

At 5%, it would be $1 million, and at 6%, the portfolio would need to be around $833,000.

That shows how the dividend yield can make a big difference.

Why not just chase the highest yield?

It is tempting to look at those numbers and aim for the highest dividend yield possible.

But that can be a dangerous strategy.

A very high yield can sometimes be a sign that the market expects the dividend to fall. After all, if it were guaranteed, investors would be piling all their money in, driving the share price higher and narrowing the yield on offer.

A share yielding 8% today is not much help if the dividend is cut heavily next year.

That is why shares like CBA often remain popular with income investors. The yield may not always be the highest on the ASX, but investors are also paying for scale, profitability, franking credits, and a long record of returning cash to shareholders.

Building around CBA shares

CBA shares could be part of a passive income portfolio, but they probably should not be the whole portfolio.

Even a high-quality bank is still exposed to the housing market, credit growth, bad debts, interest margins, regulation, and the broader economy.

A better approach could be to combine bank dividends with other types of income shares.

That might include infrastructure shares such as Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), energy infrastructure through APA Group (ASX: APA), supermarkets such as Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW), or property income through listed real estate investment trusts like HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN).

This gives the income stream more ways to hold up if one sector has a difficult year.

The real goal

Making $50,000 a year from ASX dividends is possible, but it usually requires a sizeable portfolio and a sensible balance between yield and quality.

A portfolio yielding 4% would need about $1.25 million. A portfolio yielding 5% would need about $1 million.

Those numbers may look large, but they show the value of starting early and letting compounding do more of the work.

For example, investing $1,000 a month into ASX shares and earning an average 10% annual return (not guaranteed but a fair target) would turn into approximately $1.25 million after 25 years.

Shares like CBA can play an important role in that journey, but the best passive income portfolios are usually built on more than one dividend payer.

The post How to make $50,000 of passive income from ASX shares like CBA appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Woolworths Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Apa Group and Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended HomeCo Daily Needs REIT. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Are you planning to retire at age 64? If so, do you know if you have enough superannuation to fund the comfortable lifestyle that you want?

After all, at this age, retirement is very possible. At age 64, you’ve already passed the preservation age of 60. You’re also only one year from the average retirement age, and three years from potentially receiving the Age Pension payment.

Let’s break down what a comfortable retirement looks like. Then dive into what it might cost you to retire comfortably at age 64. Then you can figure out if your super is on track.

Here’s what a comfortable retirement looks like

In Australia, retirement is generally split into two categories: a modest retirement and a comfortable one. 

According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), a comfortable retirement is defined as one that enables retirees to maintain a good standard of living well beyond the Age Pension. 

It budgets for expenses including top-tier private health insurance, regular leisure activities and the occasional meal. It allocates funds for home repairs or renovations, and perhaps even an annual holiday.

Meanwhile, a modest retirement is defined as being able to cover expenses just slightly above the full Centrelink Age Pension provisions from age 67. 

How much will it cost me?

In order to retire comfortably at age 67, ASFA estimates that you’ll need to allocate around $55,923 per year if you’re a single Australian living alone. A couple living together will need $78,566 per year.

These figures also assume you’ll receive a part Age Pension. They also assume you own your home in full, and that you’ll be able to create and stick to your financial goal. 

In order to fund this type of comfortable retirement, ASFA calculates that single Australians will need around $630,000 in their superannuation. Meanwhile, couples will need around $730,000.

Obviously, the catch is, if you’re planning to retire three years earlier at age 64, these figures don’t quite work. You’ll need to allocate extra savings to fund those three extra years.

Ok, so how much do I need in my superannuation at age 64 to retire comfortably?

I’ve done the math for you, using ASFA’s figures, to work out what you should aim to have in your superannuation by age 64.

Singles should aim to have closer to $727,000 in their superannuation and couples closer to $1.02 million at age 64.

Remember also, these figures assume you won’t need to pay mortgage or rent bills in retirement. So if you don’t own your home outright, you’ll also need to factor in these costs too.

The post How much superannuation do I need to retire comfortably at age 64? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How to make $50,000 of passive income from ASX shares like CBA
• The ASX ETF market is set for a record year – Here are the best performers so far in 2026
• What’s the average Australian superannuation balance at ages 60 and 65?
• Should you buy, hold, or sell Wesfarmers shares?
• Does Macquarie rate BHP shares a buy, hold or sell right now?

Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Five years can pass surprisingly quickly, but between the ages of 60 and 65 they can completely reshape a person’s retirement position.

At 60, many Australians are still working, receiving employer contributions, and giving their investments more time to grow. By 65, retirement may have already begun, or at least moved from a distant plan to an immediate financial decision.

So, how much superannuation does the average Australian have at these two important ages?

The average superannuation balance at 60

The available superannuation data from Rest Super is reported in five-year age groups rather than for individual birthdays, which means an exact figure for age 60 needs to be estimated from the surrounding averages.

Based on the latest figures, the average Australian woman is likely to have around $285,000 in super at age 60, while the average Australian man may have approximately $365,000.

Those balances are substantial, although they do not necessarily mean someone is ready to retire immediately. A person stopping work at 60 may need to fund seven years before becoming eligible for the Age Pension, placing much greater pressure on their savings than retiring later.

This makes age 60 an important financial checkpoint. There may still be time to make additional contributions, review investment settings, reduce unnecessary fees, and reconsider whether retirement should happen all at once or gradually.

The average super balance at 65

By age 65, the average balance is likely to have grown meaningfully.

Data suggests the average is approximately $361,000 for women and $427,000 for men.

This increase reflects another five years of employer contributions, potential investment returns, and the fact that many Australians earn some of their highest incomes during the final stage of their careers.

How do these balances compare with retirement targets?

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) estimates that a homeowner needs around $630,000 at retirement to support a comfortable lifestyle as a single person. A couple needs approximately $730,000 combined.

On that basis, an average single 60-year-old or 65-year-old may remain below the comfortable benchmark, although the eventual Age Pension, home ownership, other savings, and personal spending needs can all change the outcome.

The picture can be considerably better for couples. Two people retiring at 65 with balances close to the averages could have more than $700,000 combined, placing them around the current comfortable retirement target.

This is one reason superannuation balances should probably not be judged in isolation. Housing costs, relationship status, retirement timing, and expected spending can matter just as much as the number shown on an account statement.

Is it enough?

The movement between ages 60 and 65 shows that superannuation can still make meaningful progress late in a working life.

Continuing to work for several more years does more than provide another salary. It allows further contributions, gives investments more time to compound, and reduces the number of years that retirement savings need to support.

The average balance at 60 is approximately $285,000 for women and $365,000 for men, rising to around $361,000 and $427,000, respectively, by age 65.

Those numbers offer a valuable point of comparison, but the more important question is whether your balance can support your own retirement plans. The average can show where other Australians are sitting, but only a personal budget can reveal whether you are genuinely ready to stop working.

The post What’s the average Australian superannuation balance at ages 60 and 65? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How to make $50,000 of passive income from ASX shares like CBA
• How much superannuation do I need to retire comfortably at age 64?
• The ASX ETF market is set for a record year – Here are the best performers so far in 2026
• Should you buy, hold, or sell Wesfarmers shares?
• Does Macquarie rate BHP shares a buy, hold or sell right now?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.