Monash Centre for Financial Studies found that the drawdown phase of retirement is “fraught” with uncertainty with longer life expectancy, rising living costs and market instability forcing many retirees to face difficult choices about how to sustain income.

The study was authored by Associate Professor Ummul Ruthbah and Dr Trinh Le from the Monash Business School, used Capital Market Assumptions developed by the Centre, and incorporates inflation expectations, monetary policy settings and currency dynamics to provide a forward-looking view of returns and risks.

“The findings of the study are sobering,” Ruthbah said.

“Retirees with less than $250,000 face a high likelihood of exhausting their superannuation…