If you can invest wisely, it helps you build wealth for later on in life. And in the meantime, you benefit from low tax rates and long-term compounding.

But what can that passive income actually look like?

Let's break down how much you could earn every single year from a $600,000 superannuation balance.

What passive income can I earn off a $600,000 superannuation balance?

The easiest way to calculate your passive income is by multiplying your total superannuation balance by the overall dividend yield of your portfolio.

The tricky part is that the answer varies widely depending on what dividend yield you pick.

For example, $600,000 x 3% = $18,000 per year in dividend payments.

But if your portfolio has a slightly higher dividend yield of around 4%, your passive income will be higher. That's because $600,000 x 4% = $24,000 per year in dividend payments. 

Raise it again to 5%, and you could earn $30,0000 every year in dividend payments off the same superannuation balance ($600,000 x 5% = $ 30,000).

At a 6% yield, you could earn an annual passive income closer to $36,000 and at 7% that could be even higher, at around $42,000.

And so on… 

As your dividend yield increases, the passive income you can earn off your $600,000 superannuation balance also increases.  

These figures are based on cash dividends before any tax or franking credit benefits.

Which ASX shares should I invest my superannuation in if I want to earn $24,000 per year in passive income?

A 4% yielding portfolio of this size would earn around $24,000 per year in passive income. There are plenty of high-quality ASX shares around this level.

Some of my favourites include Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) and banking giants National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC). Cedar Woods Properties Ltd (ASX: CWP) and Mff Capital Investments (ASX: MFF) also yield around the 4% level at the time of writing.

And, which ASX shares will earn me $48,000 per year in passive income?

To earn $48,000 per year in passive income from a $600,000 superannuation balance, your portfolio will need to yield around 8%.

It's on the high side, and of course, the higher the yield, the more risk the portfolio carries. But it's still achievable.

If you're wanting to focus on high yield ASX shares I'd look at listed investment trusts (LIT)'s like the Metrics Master Income Trust (ASX: MXT) or the Metrics Income Opportunities Trust (ASX: MOT). These both target a return of 7-10%, and currently yield around 8%.

Exchange-traded funds are another good option for high yield investments. Such as the Betashares S&P Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: HYLD) or the Global X S&P/ASX 200 Covered Call ETF (ASX: AYLD). These both yield in the 8-9% range at the time of writing.

The post How much passive income could I earn from a $600,000 superannuation balance? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Nothing is certain in the world of investing, but what is certain is that if you just leave it up to fate, you're more likely to have a surprise on the downside.

Time to do the sums on your superannuation

So, how much money do you actually need? As much as possible is the obvious answer; however, most of us have to strike a balance between what we can put away for the future and what we need to fund our current lifestyle.

A good yardstick for how much is needed is the figure published by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), which says that, for a comfortable retirement, singles need $55,923 per year and couples need $78,566 per year.

These figures assume the retiree owns their own home and is therefore not paying rent or a mortgage.

Looking at these figures, a $5000 per month superannuation income stream places a single retiree squarely in the comfortable zone, with a little buffer to play with.

To hit the $5000 per month target in terms of investment returns, assuming no drawdown of capital, a retiree would need $857,142 in their super if they could achieve a dividend return of 7% per year, which I'd argue is doable.

If that return were to drop to 5%, the amount needed in super would rise to $1.2 million, while it would drop to $600,000 if a 10% return could be achieved.

So, how realistic is a 7% return?

First, you have to take into account that retirees get the benefit of franking credits, meaning they are reimbursed for the tax paid by companies they own shares in.

For example, Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) is paying a trailing dividend of 6.46%. But when the franking credit is added back in, this rises to 9.23%.

While high dividends cannot be assured over the longer term, it is possible to focus on companies or funds that specifically aim to return dividends rather than grow capital.

One such is WAM Active Ltd (ASX: WAA), which recently announced a special dividend on top of its final dividend.

The fund said in a statement to the ASX that this would bring its fully-franked dividend yield to 8.6% and its grossed-up dividend yield to 12.3%.

There is also the S&P/ASX 200 Covered Call Complex ETF (ASX: AYLD), which uses a more complex strategy to deliver high yields, paying 9.64% over the past 12 months, albeit only franked at 15.3%.

Infrastructure companies, which tend to plan for the long term, can also be consistent dividend payers, with gas pipeline company APA Group (ASX: APA) paying 5.63% and Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure Ltd (ASX: DBI) paying 4.56%.

The post How much do I need in superannuation to receive $5000 per month in passive income? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.