. The table compares retired single people and retired couples on the basis of how much they have to spend on 6 different categories to live comfortably in Australia. Overall, the expenditures of single retired people are naturally much lower than that of retired couples. Additionally, housing, leisure, and healthcare emerged as a significant expense for retirees, regardless of their marital status.
The expenditure disparity is particularly pronounced in the categories of health, leisure, and food. While a single retiree needs to dedicate an average of $140 to leisure activities, couples allocate a staggering $202. In terms of healthcare, singles spend $122, whereas couples spend $177, reflecting a difference of $55. Lastly, couples have to spend twice as much on food as single retirees, $100 compared to $50.
In the remaining categories, housing costs form a substantial part of retirement expenses for both single people and couples, with the former spending $184 and the latter allocating $194. The transportation expenses are nearly identical for both groups, ranging between $107 and $108. As for clothing, retired singles spend an average of $44 but this figure is higher for couples, at $80. Finally, miscellaneous expenses make up the smallest proportion of the retired single people and couples’ budged, at $37 and $70 respectively. When all of these expenses put together, a single retired person is expected to spend $684 on average and couples have to spend considerably more, at $931.