What are bridge years before Age Pension?

They are the years between stopping work and possible Age Pension support, when spending may need to come from savings, super, work or other income.

Why can bridge years create retirement risk?

Salary and contributions may stop before Age Pension begins, increasing reliance on cash reserves or super drawdown.

Should couples model bridge years separately?

Yes. Partners can have different stop-work, super access and Age Pension dates, which can change household pressure.

Retirement bridge years

Retirement bridge years before Age Pension age.

Bridge years are the years between stopping work and reaching Age Pension age. They can be funded by cash, super, part-time work, investments or lower spending, but the right answer depends on the household timeline.

Bridge years planning Retire before pension age

Funding gap

The bridge-year question is simple.

If salary stops before Age Pension or other retirement income begins, what pays the bills and what does that do to the rest of the retirement plan?

Cash runway.
Super access and drawdowns.
Part-time work or passive income.
Lower temporary spending targets.
Age Pension estimate at the later claim age.

Model the gap before relying on super or pension estimatesSuper drawdown guide Sample report