How much superannuation do I need to earn $2,000 per week in passive income?

If you invest your superannuation into ASX dividend shares today, you can benefit from low tax rates, compound growth, and a passive income for when you decide to stop working.

But how much do you actually need in your super to generate the passive income you want to live off when you retire?

Let's take a look, using $2,000 per week as an example.

I want to earn $2,000 per week in passive income, what do I need in my superannuation?

First of all, it's important to note that ASX dividend shares don't pay dividends to their shareholders on a weekly basis. Instead, they pay annually, twice per year, or some even pay every month.

That means that while you can strive for a $2,000-per-week income, it'll be paid in chunks.

In that case, it's easiest to calculate by thinking of your $2,000 weekly income as an annual sum.

Over the year, $2,000 per week totals $104,000.

Next, you need to divide that annual sum by the dividend yield of your portfolio.

Of course, the tricky thing is that the answer varies significantly depending on what shares you decide to invest in.

To help, here's a guide for what you'd need in your superannuation if your portfolio had a dividend yield between 3% and 8%.

Breakdown by dividend yield

If your superannuation portfolio has a dividend yield of around 3%, you'll need a balance of around $3.46 million to earn $104,000 in passive income each year.

Of course, a portfolio this size is out of reach for the majority of the population, so you'd either need to revise how much you expect to earn or increase your yield.

Because as the dividend yield of your portfolio goes up, the superannuation balance you'll need to earn the same amount goes down.

For example, if you increase your yield to 4%, you'd need closer to $2.6 million to earn the same passive income. It's still a lot, but it's starting to become a lot more achievable. And remember, this is a passive income that you don't need to do a lot for.

At a 4% yield, you could invest in long-standing blue-chip shares like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) or ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ).

Then, if your portfolio yields around 5%, your balance would need to be closer to $2.08 million to generate the same dividend income.

Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) and Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) would be my top picks for a 5% yielding stock.

Increase that to a 6% or 7% dividend yield, and you're looking at closer to $1.7 million or $1.4 million.

Amcor PLC (ASX: AMC) and Cash Converters International Ltd (ASX: CCV) yield around the 6% to 7% level.

Then, at an 8% dividend yield, you'd only need around $1.3 million in your superannuation to earn the same $104,000 annual passive income (equivalent of $2,000 per week) in your retirement.

For an ASX share yielding around 8%, I'd go for something like the Metrics Master Income Trust (ASX: MXT) or Betashares S&P Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: HYLD).

Can't I just invest in high-yielding stocks so I can earn the amount I want off a lower balance?

Yes, but it doesn't make good investment sense. 

Generally, the higher the yield, the more risk associated with that investment.

So while you could earn the same passive income off a smaller balance, these stocks are subject to more volatility. And that could risk your entire portfolio.

Ideally, you want to strike a balance between a range of shares at several different yields to hedge against volatility and protect your portfolio from fluctuating prices.