A GOOD START TO THE WEEK???

The Australian market looks set to open higher if it follows Friday's international lead, despite closing lower on Friday.
At 0736 AEST on Monday, the September share price index futures contract was up 21 points at 4,200.
In economic news on Monday, the Housing Industry Association releases its data for new home sales in May.
In equities news, QR National, Australian Worldwide Exploration, Goodman Fielder, Kingsgate Consolidated, all announce full year results.
Macquarie Atlas Roads and Resolute Mining announce their first half results.
In Australia, the market on Friday closed down, ending a flat day of trading ahead of a speech by US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, which was scheduled for after the local market closed.
S&P/ASX200 index was down 12.8 points, or 0.30 per cent, at 4,200, while the broader All Ordinaries index was 9.5 points, or 0.22 per cent, lower at 4,271.

RETIREMENT PLANNING

Planning makes all the difference when it comes to achieving a comfortable retirement.

A couple wanting a ''comfortable'' retirement - where they can afford to have some fun, not just pay the bills - now needs more than $1000 a week, by one estimate. A ''modest'' lifestyle requires $600 a week, according to the super industry's retirement benchmarks.

But what is comfortable and what is modest - and how much do you need to save for one or the other? The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) releases a Retirement Standard every three months and its most recent calculation is that a couple now needs $54,562 a year for a comfortable retirement and $31,263 for a modest one - an increase of 2 per cent to 3 per cent on the annual income required a year earlier.

Source: Super Ratings.

ASFA describes a modest lifestyle in retirement as being something ''better than the age pension but still only able to afford fairly basic activities''.

A comfortable lifestyle means an older, healthy retiree can take part in a broad range of leisure activities and can afford to buy such things as household goods, private health insurance, a reasonable car, good clothes and a range of electronic equipment, it says. They should be able to afford holidays in Australia and, occasionally, overseas.

WEEKLY BUDGETS

ASFA's latest weekly budget for a couple enjoying a comfortable lifestyle includes just less than $200 for food, $135 to own and run a car, $120 for health insurance and health care, $30 for phones and the internet, $44 for power, about $75 for housing (including insurance and maintenance), $57 towards clothing and about $85 for services such as cleaning and haircuts.

In the $300-odd budgeted for leisure, there is $80 to dine out, $40 to have a drink, plus the equivalent of one movie a week. About $130 of that amount is set aside for holidays, including $50 earmarked for overseas travel.

The budget for a modest lifestyle steps things down a bit, at $155 for food, $88 to own and run a car and $55 for housing costs. And it halves the amount for health care, communications, clothing and services. Power stays about the same.

A couple, with each partner aged 60, would need to retire with a nest egg of about $535,000 to have only a modest lifestyle lasting as long as the official life expectancy of the partner likely to live longest - that is, 26 years (to 86) for the woman. If the couple wanted a comfortable lifestyle, they'd need to retire with about $940,000 in capital.

''That's after paying off your mortgage,'' Dale says. These figures assume the couple uses their super to start a pension, providing them with tax-free income, and that they don't qualify for the age pension. It also assumes their money earns 7 per cent a year and that they're prepared to use up their super over those 26 years.

They would need even more if they wanted to build in a ''buffer'' in case one or both of them lived longer than expected, or to provide an inheritance.

The earlier you would like to retire and the higher the annual income you'd like in retirement, the more super you'll need. If the couple retires at 55, rather than 60, they'll need $1.05 million for a comfortable retirement to age 86, or $590,000 for a modest lifestyle, by MLC's calculations. In contrast, if they keep working until 65, the nest egg they'll require drops to $850,000 and $480,000 respectively, because of the shorter period to cover to age 86.

Investment options also play a key role and members should take advice, compare investment options and risks when planning ahead for their eventual retirement. Some options, such as ''growth'' are slightly more aggressive than ''balanced'' options.