Retirement Article: Australians who believe $1 million is enough for a comfortable retirement are in for a rude shock, according to one of the leading providers of retirement incomes.

Superannuation industry veteran and chairman of retirement income at Challenger, Jeremy Cooper, said if the typical $1 million nest egg was used to buy a lifetime income in the current interest rate environment, it would fetch about $1297 a fortnight – the same as the government pension. 

"Assumptions and assertions that $500,000, or even $1 million, in super, in the current environment, will guarantee a comfortable retirement are suspect," Mr Cooper, chairman of retirement income at Challenger, argued in an opinion piece in The Australian Financial Review on Monday.