I think one of the best things about Australia's wealth and retirement system is superannuation. It offers lower tax rates compared to someone working full-time. Superannuation is a great option for passive income, whether that's in retirement or building towards retirement.
It's a great benefit that superannuation can offer significantly lower tax rates, thereby improving net investment returns.
If I were investing $10,000 inside superannuation, I'd choose ASX shares with long-term growth potential and a good upfront dividend yield. Investing in superannuation means we can put that money to work for many years, giving it more time to compound.
I'll run through some businesses I think could be excellent long-term buys. If an investor had $10,000 to invest (or more), I'd definitely recommend the following ideas.
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Dexus Industria REIT (ASX: DXI)
I really like certain real estate investment trusts (REITs) for the stability and passive income they can provide.
I particularly like REITs that provide exposure to industrial properties. This type of investment allows investors to benefit from strong demand for leases associated with e-commerce, data centres and refrigerated space (for food and medicine).
Strong demand means a high occupancy rate and elevated organic rental income growth, which is exactly what superannuation investors should hope to see.
The latest rental update from the business was very promising. In the FY26 half-year result, the business reported like-for-like income growth of 7.4%, supported by rental escalations, strong re-leasing spreads (new rental contracts generating much higher rent than the old contract) and higher average occupancy throughout the period.
It's the strength of this rental performance that allowed the business to provide passive income guidance of 16.6 cents per security in FY26, which translates into a distribution yield of close to 7%. That guidance is to have a dividend payout ratio of 95% – it's retaining a little bit of rental profit to improve the business.
It's trading at a discount of 30% to its net tangible assets (NTA) of $3.39 as of 31 December 2025. That's a great discount, in my opinion, considering the property valuation slightly increased as at 30 June 2026.
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)
Soul Patts is another ASX share that looks like a leading pick for superannuation passive income because of its reliability and longevity.
Impressively, the business has paid a dividend every year in its 120-year history. It kept paying through the world wars, the global pandemics and economic recessions. Perhaps more impressively, Soul Patts' ordinary dividend has been hiked every year since 1998.
If I were a retiree relying on dividend income, this business would arguably be at the very top of my list of names I'd rely on.
The business operates as a diversified investment house, spreading its money across a number of areas like energy, financial services, property, credit, agriculture, financial services and plenty more.
Each year, it receives income from its portfolio of assets. After paying for its own expenses, it then pays out a majority of that as a dividend to shareholders, while retaining some for reinvestment. This factor helps support the steadily growing dividend.
The current grossed-up dividend yield is 3.4%, including franking credits, at the time of writing. That may not be a huge yield, but if a superannuation investor split the $10,000 equally, the average dividend yield would be around 5.2%, with good growth potential. That's appealing to me!
