Are your superannuation savings on track to deliver enough funds for a comfortable retirement at the end of your working life?
We can help you find out.
The Association of Super Funds of Australia (ASFA) has a handy little tool on its website called the Super Detective calculator.
Punch in your age, and the calculator will tell you how much superannuation savings you should have right now to ensure a comfortable retirement down the track.
Here are some examples:
If you're aged 25, your superannuation balance should be $26,000.
If you're aged 30, your superannuation balance should be $66,500.
If you're aged 35, your superannuation balance should be $111,500.
If you're aged 40, your superannuation balance should be $168,000.
If you're aged 45, your superannuation balance should be $226,000.
If you're aged 50, your superannuation balance should be $296,000.
If you're aged 55, your superannuation balance should be $377,000.
If you're aged 60, your superannuation balance should be $469,000.
If you're aged 65, your superannuation balance should be $571,000.
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What does a 'comfortable' retirement mean?
A comfortable retirement has a specific definition.
AFSA created the definition as part of Australia's Retirement Standard.
AFSA created the Retirement Standard in 2004.
The Retirement Standard, updated quarterly, is now the benchmark guide for retirement budgeting.
AFSA defines a comfortable retirement as being able to easily pay for all of life's essentials, plus some specific extras.
They include top-level private health insurance, a variety of exercise and leisure activities, occasional restaurant meals, a domestic trip once a year, and an overseas trip every seven years.
ASFA says we need superannuation savings of $690,000 for couples or $595,000 for singles by age 67 to fund a comfortable retirement.
In today's money, a comfortable retirement costs $73,875 a year for couples and $52,383 a year for singles.
These numbers assume you own your home outright, receive a part-pension, and get an average 6% annual return on your investments.
Jenny Brown, CEO of JBS Jenny Financial Strategists, said Australians needed to work out their own "financial freedom number".
While the AFSA Retirement Standard provides a guide, people can choose when they want to retire and what sort of lifestyle they desire.
Brown says (courtesy The Australian):
It's a matter of working out what we call your financial freedom number – how much do you need to retire?
That's working out what you are spending and what lifestyle you want when you retire.
And what age is retirement? Is it 60, 65 or 70, or as soon as you possibly can?
Superannuation returns in FY25
The median Australian growth super fund returned 10.5% in FY25, according to data from Chant West.
This total return includes capital growth and dividends.
The median superannuation growth fund has 61% to 80% allocation to growth assets like international and ASX shares.
Chant West benchmarks five different types of super funds — all growth, high growth, growth, balanced, and conservative.
The Chant West data helps you compare how your particular super fund did to the industry average return.
If you didn't select a specific superannuation strategy when you set your account up, it would have defaulted to the balanced option.
Chant West defines balanced funds as having 41% to 60% in growth assets. The balance of monies goes into defensive investments.
Balanced super funds returned 8.8% in FY25. You can read more about superannuation returns in FY25 here.
What's ahead?
The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) went up from 11.5% to 12% on 1 July.
The Guarantee is the compulsory minimum amount of super that your employer must pay into your superannuation account.
ASFA says the 12% SG means a 30-year-old worker on the average wage of $75,000 for life will be able to afford a comfortable retirement.
