How much super should I have at my age?

A rough benchmark: your super balance at age X should be approximately (X-25) x your annual salary / 10. For example, at age 40 on $80,000: (40-25) x $80,000 / 10 = $120,000. These are rough guides -- the ASIC MoneySmart Super Healthy Super Balance tool provides more detailed benchmarks by age and income.

What is salary sacrifice and is it worth doing?

Salary sacrifice is voluntarily contributing extra money to super from your pre-tax salary. Contributions are taxed at 15% in super rather than your marginal income tax rate. At a 32.5% marginal rate, the effective saving is 17.5 cents per dollar sacrificed. The downside is reduced take-home pay and that the money is locked in super until you reach preservation age (60). It is generally worthwhile for medium and high income earners with spare cash flow.

My employer is not paying my super -- what do I do?

Contact your super fund first to confirm no payment has been received. If confirmed unpaid, submit an unpaid super enquiry to the ATO online (ato.gov.au/unpairedsuper). The ATO can investigate and recover unpaid SGC plus a 10% SGC charge as a penalty. You can also seek legal advice through the Fair Work Ombudsman. Do not ignore unpaid super -- over a career the compounding loss is enormous.

Superannuation Calculator — Free Finance Calculator

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An employee in their late 30s wants to know if they are on track for a comfortable retirement. They have $85,000 in super already and want to see what they will have at 67 before deciding whether to make voluntary contributions.

Superannuation Calculator

Super

Annual income ($)

Residency status

Tax offsets claimed ($)

LITO auto-included below $66,667

Medicare levy exemption

Australian resident 2024–25 tax rates:
$0–$18,200: nil · $18,201–$45,000: 19¢ per $1 over $18,200
$45,001–$120,000: $5,092 + 32.5¢ · $120,001–$180,000: $29,467 + 37¢
$180,001+: $51,667 + 45¢ · Plus 2% Medicare levy

⚠️ Estimate only. Does not include deductions, HECS/HELP debt, private health rebate or investment income. Consult a registered tax agent. ATO.gov.au

ℹ️ Results are estimates for planning purposes. Verify with current standards and a qualified professional.

1 What this calculator does

Projects superannuation balance at retirement from current balance, salary, age and investment return. Compounds employer SGC contributions (11.5% in 2024-25) plus any voluntary additional contributions annually at the chosen return rate. Shows total contributed, growth component and final balance.

2 Formula & professional reasoning

Annual SGC contribution = Salary x 11.5%
Annual total contribution = SGC + Extra voluntary contributions
Balance each year = (Balance + Annual contributions) x (1 + Return rate)
Final balance = Compound growth over (Retirement age - Current age) years

The compound growth calculation applies the investment return to both the existing balance and new contributions each year. The employer SGC rate is 11.5% in 2024-25 and rises to 12% from 1 July 2025. The long-run average return for a balanced super fund is approximately 7% after fees -- a reasonable default for projections. The final balance is compared to ASFA's comfortable retirement standard ($690,000 for couples, $595,000 for singles as at 2024).

3 Worked examples

⚠️ Illustrative example only — not clinical or professional instruction.

Basic

Mid-career employee -- on track check

Given: Balance: $85,000 | Salary: $95,000 | Age: 38 | Retirement: 67 | Return: 7%

Working: Years: 29 | SGC: $95,000 x 0.115 = $10,925/yr | Balance iteration over 29 years at 7% with $10,925/yr contributions

Answer: Projected balance at 67: approximately $1,180,000

💡 At 7% p.a., $85,000 starting balance and $10,925/yr contributions over 29 years grows to approximately $1.18M. This exceeds ASFA's comfortable retirement standard. A financial planner can show the income stream this balance could support.

Standard

Adding voluntary contributions -- impact

Given: Same as above plus $5,000/yr extra voluntary contributions | Annual total: $15,925/yr

Working: Same iteration with $15,925/yr instead of $10,925/yr | Extra $5,000/yr over 29 years at 7%

Answer: Projected balance with extras: approximately $1,430,000 -- $250,000 more

💡 An extra $5,000/yr in before-tax salary sacrifice adds approximately $250,000 to the retirement balance. The tax saving on salary sacrifice (at 32.5% marginal rate, the 15% super tax rate saves 17.5 cents per dollar) also improves the effective return.

Advanced

Low starting balance -- younger worker

Given: Balance: $12,000 | Salary: $65,000 | Age: 25 | Retirement: 67 | Return: 7%

Working: Years: 42 | SGC: $65,000 x 0.115 = $7,475/yr | 42 years of compounding

Answer: Projected balance at 67: approximately $1,720,000

💡 Starting super early is enormously powerful. At 25 with modest salary, 42 years of compounding produces $1.72M. At 35 with the same salary and no starting balance, the projection is only approximately $850,000. Time is the most important variable.

4 Sanity check

SGC rate 2024-25

11.5% | Rising to 12% from 1 July 2025

Employer must pay SGC on all ordinary time earnings. Ensure your payslip reflects the correct rate.

ASFA comfortable retirement standard (2024)

Couples: $690,000 | Singles: $595,000 | These fund approximately $72,000/yr (couple) or $51,000/yr (single)

Long-run balanced fund return assumption

5-7% after fees per year is the typical planning range | The ASIC MoneySmart default is 6%

Actual returns vary significantly year to year -- projections are illustrative.

Super access age

Preservation age: currently 60 | Most people access super at 60-67 | Age pension at 67

5 Common errors

Error	Cause	Consequence	Fix
Forgetting that the return shown is before fees and inflation	Treating the gross return as the real return	Projected balance overstated -- purchasing power of the balance is lower after inflation	For inflation-adjusted projections, subtract 2-3% from the nominal return (e.g. use 4-5% instead of 7%). This gives the real (purchasing power) value of the final balance.
Not checking that your employer is paying the correct SGC rate	Assuming the payslip is correct	Missing super contributions -- compounding effect of underpayment is severe over 20-30 years	Check your super fund statement against your payslip. SGC must be 11.5% of ordinary time earnings in 2024-25. If not being paid correctly, contact the ATO's unpaid super hotline.
Using the same return rate for the growth phase and retirement phase	Single-rate planning	Unrealistic retirement income projections -- different funds and products in retirement	The accumulation phase (building super) uses your working years return. In retirement, many people shift to a more conservative allocation with lower expected returns. Use separate projections for each phase.
Not considering the super tax concession on voluntary contributions	Comparing extra super contributions to take-home saving at the same gross amount	Under-valuing salary sacrifice -- it is more efficient than post-tax saving	Before-tax salary sacrifice contributions are taxed at 15% in super instead of your marginal rate. At 32.5% marginal rate, every $1,000 sacrificed costs only $850 after the 17.5% saving vs $672.50 from take-home pay.

6 Reference & regulatory links

🇦🇺 Australia

🇺🇸 United States

7 Professional workflow

Common tools used alongside this one:

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Income Tax Calculator

Income Tax Calculator shows take-home pay, which determines capacity for voluntary super contributions

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Savings Goal Calculator

Savings Goal Calculator shows how long to save a specific amount outside super as a complement to the super projection

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Compound Interest Calculator

Compound Interest Calculator can model the same scenario with different assumptions to cross-check the projection

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Input	Result
SGC rate 2024-25	11.5% (rising to 12% from July 2025)
Long-run return assumption	5-7% after fees
Age pension eligibility	Age 67
Super access (preservation age)	Age 60