How much could downsizing actually free up for you?
Compare staying home with buying a smaller home, moving to a land lease community or a retirement village. See how much cash each move could free up, and what it would mean for the way you live. Each move changes your cash, your weekly costs and your Age Pension in different ways.
Find out before you sign anything, not after.
See it before you start
Here’s what your free result shows you
This example is for a couple, but the calculator works just the same if you’re single, or helping a parent. It uses your own numbers.
- A couple, both Age Pension age
- Home worth $900,000
- $180,000 in savings and super
Stay home
Cash freed up
$0
- Keep the home and neighbours you know
- No moving, selling or stamp duty costs
Weigh up: your money stays tied up in the house, and upkeep grows with age.
Smaller home or apartment
Cash freed up
$179,500
- Less cleaning, garden and upkeep
- You own it outright, with no exit fee
Weigh up: stamp duty and strata levies add up, so check the building’s records.
Land lease community
Cash freed up
$352,500
- A low-maintenance home among people your own age
- Often a clubhouse, pool or bowling green
Weigh up: you own the home but not the land, and site fees rise over time. Some communities also charge an exit fee when you sell. Check the site agreement.
Retirement village
Cash freed up
$249,500
- Social activities and a ready-made community
- Maintenance and gardening often included
Weigh up: an exit fee is usually taken from your entry price when you leave. Check the contract.
What this example shows: the cash each move frees up differs a lot, and so do the weekly fees, exit fees and Age Pension effects that come with it. These figures don’t include those costs. The optional Retirement Move Report adds them, year by year, for $49.95.
- FreeCash each move frees upAll four options side by side, with your own numbers.
- FreeYour Question SheetThe questions to ask any agent, village or community, emailed to you.
- Retirement Move Report · $49.95Your Age Pension and feesWorked out for each option, year by year, in your online report, with an Excel copy to keep.
- Retirement Move Report · $49.95Use it again and againSee how long your money lasts, then re-check your numbers every time you get a new quote, as you do your research.
Free, a few minutes. We’ll email your results and Question Sheet so you can come back to it. The Retirement Move Report is optional: a one-off $49.95 with a 14-day money-back promise, yours to keep and use as often as you like.
Example assumptions: both partners are Age Pension age and homeowners; $30,000 in contents and car; a 2.5% agent’s fee plus about $23,000 to get the home ready, for legal and conveyancing, and to move; smaller home or apartment $650,000 plus about $25,000 in stamp duty and buying costs; land lease home $500,000 plus about $2,000 upfront, with site fees of $230 a week; retirement village entry price $600,000 plus about $5,000 in legal and entry costs, with service fees of $150 a week. Figures worked out with the free calculator on 24 October 2026 and rounded to the nearest $500. This is general information only, not financial advice. It doesn’t take your personal circumstances into account.
Wherever you are in the journey
The Retirement Pathway Calculator
Compare staying home, a smaller home or apartment, a land lease community and a retirement village side by side, with your own numbers. In a few minutes you’ll see how much cash each move could free up, and what it means for your lifestyle.
Downsizing
Thinking about a smaller home, a land lease community or a retirement village? Understand what actually changes, for your money, your lifestyle and your independence.
Selling your home? For homes sold from 1 January 2023, sale proceeds you plan to use for your next home can be exempt from the Age Pension assets test for up to 24 months.
Real estate assets — servicesaustralia.gov.au ↗ Read the full guide →Retirement Income
Make sense of the Age Pension, the income and assets tests, deeming and Rent Assistance.
2.67 million Australians received the Age Pension in June 2025.
Administration of the Age Pension — anao.gov.au ↗ Read the full guide →Staying in Your Home
Practical guidance on help at home and simple changes that make it easier to stay comfortable and independent.
Government-funded help at home is now called Support at Home, following recent reforms.
Support at Home — myagedcare.gov.au ↗ Read the full guide →Three steps to real clarity
Answer a few simple questions
About your home, where you might move and your savings. Rough figures are fine. Add your email at the end and we’ll send your results and Question Sheet.
See what each move could free up
Staying home, a smaller home, land lease and a retirement village, side by side, with what each one offers your lifestyle.
Walk in with the right questions
Take your free Question Sheet to any agent, village or community manager, or adviser. Want your Age Pension, fees and how long your money lasts? Get your Retirement Move Report for $49.95, with a 14-day money-back promise, and use it again every time you get a new quote.
Free guide
Not ready to compare options yet? Get your affairs in order first.
Leave It Sorted is a plain-English guide to the paperwork that matters most, whatever you decide about where to live.
- Wills and powers of attorney, explained simply
- Joint tenants vs tenants in common: why it matters for your home
- Super nominations and what happens to your property
- A checklist so your family knows where everything is
Not sure where you stand? Take the 60-second quiz: Could your family find it?
General information only, not legal or financial advice. Please speak to a qualified professional about your own situation.
Why I built LaunchUP
When my mother needed help, I sat down with her to sort out and reorganise her affairs. It showed me how hard it is to find clear, plain-English information, and it made me realise I needed to get my own things in order for my children and grandchildren. LaunchUP is what I built from that: simple tools to help you see your options and get sorted before the big decisions.
Martin, founder
Built for people making a real decision, not a sales pitch.
We don’t sell property and we’re not a village, park or financial adviser. We take no commissions or referral payments from anyone we mention. Every figure is grounded in the same Age Pension, assets test, income test and Rent Assistance rules Services Australia uses, kept current as those rates change. This is general information, not financial advice. For advice about your own situation, a licensed financial adviser or Services Australia’s free Financial Information Service can help.
Age Pension, deeming and Rent Assistance rates, checked against the official published figures.
The comparison and your Question Sheet cost nothing. We just ask for your email so we can send them to you, and we never sell your details.
If a term needs jargon, we explain it in the same breath. No assumed prior knowledge.
What could your home free up?
Find out in a few minutes. It’s free, and we’ll email you your results and Question Sheet.