How Much Super Should I Have at My Age? Use our Calculator

Wondering how much super you should have at 30, 40, 50 or 60? While there’s no single “right” number, checking your progress regularly can help you stay on track for the retirement you want.

Our super calculator can help you to estimate how your super could grow over time, and see whether you’re on track for a comfortable retirement based on your age, income and current balance. You’ll get a projection of your future balance, along with ideas to help improve your outcome.

Use the calculator to see how your super is tracking.

How to tell if you’re on track

There’s no exact amount you should have at each age, but a simple way to check your progress is to see whether your super is growing fast enough to support your retirement goals.

Using a calculator can help you:

estimate how much super you could have at retirement
understand how long your savings might last
explore how extra contributions could boost your balance

Not on track for a comfortable retirement? Here’s what you can do

If you’re aiming for a comfortable retirement and you’re not quite on track for your age, don’t panic, there’s plenty you can do, and it’s never too late (or too early) to improve your retirement savings. It’s also worth remembering that everyone has different retirement lifestyle expectations, and how much retirement income you’ll need will depend on the type of lifestyle you’d like.

Here are some things you can do to manage your super well and grow your balance at retirement

Salary sacrifice

Salary sacrifice lets you make extra contributions to your super before tax, meaning you pay less overall tax on your earnings. This is a great way to add to your super and save on tax at the same time, and you can do this at any age (as long as you’re still working) to help grow your balance. With compound interest, those little extra contributions can add up to a lot at retirement.

Consolidate

If you have more than one super account, that means you’re paying more than one set of fees on your super, which will reduce your overall savings. Consolidate your super into one account to stop paying extra fees and keep more of your money invested.

After tax contributions

You can also contribute money to your super after tax, on money that you’ve already paid tax on. Anything extra you add to your super will help boost your savings.

Spouse contributions and contributions splitting

If you have a partner, making spouse contributions or contribution splitting can help to grow your combined retirement savings, while also reducing your income tax.

You can make spouse contributions both before and after tax, and both methods can have tax benefits.

Contribution splitting allows you to split up to 85% of your pre-tax contributions with your partner (subject to eligibility). This can help reduce your combined tax burden, while adding to your combined super balance.

The calculator above shows how changing your contributions or retirement plans could improve your future super balance.

On track for your age but aiming for more than the comfortable retirement standard?

Everyone has different retirement lifestyle expectations, and you may be aiming for more than the standard amount required for a comfortable retirement.

It’s also worth considering the implications of the growing life expectancy of Australians and the impact that inflation could have on the purchasing power of your super balance when you retire.

So, even if you’re on track for a comfortable retirement, it’s still a good idea to consider adding extra to your super to help grow your savings even more.

Use the calculator above to explore ways to boost your super and improve your retirement outcome.