About 1.65 million Australians made personal superannuation contributions to APRA-regulated funds in FY23.
Newly published tax data shows Australians averaged $23,818 in personal super contributions in FY23, up from $19,614 in FY22.
The median amount contributed was $3,879 per person, up from $3,600 in FY22.
How do your personal superannuation contributions stack up against these benchmarks?
A recap on the rules for personal superannuation contributions
Personal contributions can be concessional (you claim a tax deduction) or non-concessional (no deduction).
There are caps in place to limit how much money you can put into your superannuation each year.
In FY23, the cap on concessional personal super contributions was $27,500. It's since been lifted to $30,000 per year for FY25 and FY26.
In FY23, the cap for non-concessional contributions was $110,000. The cap is now $120,000 per year for FY25 and FY26.
Why put spare money into super?
Many Australians are motivated to put extra money into superannuation to maximise the power of compounding over time.
But there's another big benefit.
That's the huge tax saving you'll score on those concessional personal superannuation contributions.
Concessional contributions up to the cap of $30,000 are taxed at just 15%.
This is substantially lower than most workers' marginal tax rates.
The concessional contributions cap applies to the combined total amount of the Superannuation Guarantee that your employer pays, which is now 12% of your wage, any salary sacrificing you have arranged, and any personal contributions you claim as a tax deduction.
How concessional personal super contributions save you tax
As stated earlier, concessional personal superannuation contributions are taxed at 15%.
Say you make $10,000 worth of concessional personal superannuation contributions in FY26.
Your super fund will automatically tax that amount at 15%, which equals $1,500.
The superannuation fund will then invest the $8,500 that's left from your $10,000 contribution.
Then, when you complete your tax return, you'll need to declare the $10,000 concessional contribution.
What that will do is effectively reduce your taxable income by $10,000.
If you're on a marginal tax rate of 30 cents in the dollar (i.e. earning between $45,001 and $135,000), this means you'll save $3,000 in tax.
If you're on a marginal rate of 37 cents (i.e. earning between $135,001 and $190,000), you'll save $3,700 in tax.
Now remember, your superannuation fund paid $1,500 in tax on your behalf, with the money taken from your $10,000 contribution.
The tax savings you received at tax time were double that or greater, at $3,000 or $3,700 in our examples above.
Winning!
One caveat, though: If your income plus concessional contributions exceeds $250,000 in a year, an extra 15% Division 293 tax may apply to some or all of your concessional contributions.
Remember to fill in the form!
If you make a concessional personal superannuation contribution, you'll need to lodge a form with your fund and receive written acknowledgement before doing your tax return (and before rolling over or withdrawing any funds).
It's called the 'Notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal super contributions' form.
This form tells your super fund that you intend to claim a tax deduction for your personal contribution.
Once your fund acknowledges the notice in writing, your contribution will be treated as a concessional (before-tax) contribution.
How much super do you need for retirement?
According to the Retirement Standard, couples need $690,000 and singles need $595,000 in super for a 'comfortable' retirement.
For a 'modest' retirement, couples and singles need $100,000 in superannuation savings.
You can learn more about the definitions of a 'comfortable' and 'modest' retirement here.
These figures assume debt-free home ownership, a part-pension, and 6% total annual returns on superannuation savings.
Find out how much super you should have at your age now to ensure you're on track for a comfortable retirement later in life.
What does retirement cost?
For homeowners, a comfortable retirement costs $73,875 per annum for couples and $52,383 for singles.
A modest retirement costs $48,184 for couples and $33,386 for singles.
Retirees who rent their homes need more superannuation savings to fund a modest retirement.
The full age pension, including all supplements, is currently $45,037.20 per year for couples and $29,874 for singles.
You can view the latest changes to the pension assets and income tests here.
