Superannuation Calculator

Superannuation ('super') is Australia's compulsory retirement savings system. By law, all Australian employers must contribute a percentage of their employees' wages into a super fund. This is called the Super Guarantee (SG) and has been rising steadily — from 9.5% in 2014 to 11% in 2023 to 12% in July 2025. It's scheduled to remain at 12% unless further changes are legislated.

Super is a tax-advantaged structure. Contributions are taxed at 15% inside the fund (much lower than most people's marginal rate), investment earnings are taxed at up to 15%, and once you reach age 60 and are retired, all withdrawals are completely tax-free. This makes super the single most tax-efficient retirement savings vehicle for Australians.

You can access super at your preservation age (60 for those born after July 1964) once you meet a condition of release, such as retirement. Before 60, access is restricted to specific circumstances like severe financial hardship or terminal illness. The ATO also allows early release for first-home buyers through the First Home Super Saver scheme (up to $50,000).

The magic of super is the 15% flat tax on contributions. When you earn $100,000 in salary and contribute $10,000 via salary sacrifice into super, that $10,000 is taxed at 15% = $1,500. If you'd received it as regular salary, you'd have paid 32% (30% + 2% Medicare) = $3,200. The super route saves you $1,700 in tax alone — plus the compounding on that $1,700 grows into tens of thousands over 30 years.

For higher earners, the advantage is even more dramatic. Someone on a 39% marginal rate (including Medicare) saves 24 percentage points on every dollar salary sacrificed. Someone on a 47% rate saves 32 percentage points. Over a career, this compounds into hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra retirement wealth.

The 2026 concessional contributions cap is $30,000/year. This includes your employer SG contributions plus any salary sacrifice. If you're under the cap and can't contribute more, the money goes into your take-home pay instead — where it's taxed at your marginal rate. There's also a 'carry forward' rule: if you haven't used your full concessional cap in prior years (and your super balance is under $500,000), you can use those unused amounts to contribute more now.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) publishes regular retirement balance targets. The 'comfortable retirement' target for a single person is currently around $595,000, and for a couple around $690,000. These assume you'll own your home outright and will draw on a mix of super and the age pension.

A useful rule of thumb for tracking your progress: by age 30, aim for one year's salary in super; by 40, three years' salary; by 50, six years' salary; by 60, ten years' salary. On a $90,000 salary, that means $90K at 30, $270K at 40, $540K at 50, and $900K at 60. These are guidelines, not strict targets — your personal circumstances matter.

The average Australian super balance at retirement is currently around $400,000 for singles and $500,000 for couples. Most people fall short of ASFA's comfortable retirement target, which is why extra salary sacrifice during your working years is so valuable. The earlier you start, the more compounding works in your favour.