How much do I need in my superannuation to receive $6,500 per month in passive income?

Superannuation is a great tool to help build wealth for retirement years.

By investing today, you can benefit from low tax rates, compounding, and eventually a tax-free passive income once you transition to the pension phase.

But how much do you need in your super to be able to get the passive income you want?

Let's use a $6,500 per month passive income as a guide. Here's a breakdown of how much you need, and how to get there.

How much do I need in my superannuation to get a passive income of $6,500 every month?

The easy calculation is for you to divide your annual passive income by the overall yield of your portfolio. Of course, the answer varies significantly depending what that yield is.

So first you'll need to work out your annual passive income amount. If you're aiming for $6,500 per month, that'll be a total of $78,000 over the year.

It's a large passive income, but its achievable if you have a high enough balance.

If your portfolio has a 3% overall dividend yield, you'll need to have a total superannuation balance of $2.6 million to be able to earn your $6,500 per month passive income. That's because $78,000 (your annual passive income) divided by 3% (your yield), is $2.6 million.

Then obviously, as your yield increases, the amount of money you need in your superannuation goes down.

So a superannuation portfolio with a 4% dividend yield would need to be $1.95 million in size to earn the same passive income.

Then a 5% yielding portfolio would need $1.56 million, a 6% portfolio would need $1.3 million, and a 7% yielding portfolio would need closer to $1.1 million to earn the same dividend income.

And so on…

So, if I invest in the highest-yielding ASX shares available, that means my balance can be lower and still earn the same?

Technically yes. But it's not a good idea from an investment perspective.

When it comes to ASX dividend shares, generally the higher the yield, the higher the risk associated with that stock.

Rather than trying to get rich quick, it's a better idea to concentrate on a diverse range of good-quality businesses with strong balance sheets and stable earnings. These stocks are most likely to stand the test of time and while also building wealth.

What does a diversified portfolio look like?

Say you eventually plan to have around $1.5 million in your superannuation to invest for passive income. You could earn around $6,500 per month off a portfolio yielding around 5% overall. 

That doesn't mean that every investment in that portfolio has to be 5%. It can be a variation which equates to a combined overall 5% yield.

And remember, you don't need to invest the whole sum in one go. Start with a monthly investment and let compound growth do some of the hard work for you.

For example, I'd look at splitting my portfolio into different yielding stocks. 

I'd look to have around 65% invested into mid-range yielding ASX shares around 4-5%, another 20% invested into slightly higher yielding stocks maybe around 6%, and the remaining 15% could be invested into riskier but much higher yielding shares.

I'd also look to buy the ASX shares across multiple sectors to diversify my portfolio even further.

It's important to note that the majority of ASX shares pay their dividends every six or 12 months. Only a small handful pay every month.

Also be aware that while a 5% yield from a diversified portfolio is a reasonable long-term target, it's not guaranteed and could fluctuate depending on the company's profits.