Superannuation
Calculator Australia

Projected balance for someone starting at age 35 with $72,000 in super, on a $95,000 salary, with 12% SG (post-1 July 2025) and 7% net annual return — no voluntary contributions. The curve is the textbook shape of long-horizon compounding: slow first decade, accelerating after age 50.

The chart crosses the ASFA "comfortable" single-retirement benchmark of $595,000 around age 52, and clears it by roughly 3× at retirement. The shape is the headline: small differences in start age are worth several hundred thousand dollars by 67. Tweak the inputs in the calculator above to see your own trajectory.

Sara is 35, earns $95,000 a year, has $72,000 already in her super fund, and plans to retire at 67. Her fund's long-run net return after fees is assumed at 7.0% p.a. Her employer contributes the Super Guarantee, which steps up from 11.5% to 12% on 1 July 2025 and stays there.

In year one she gets $95,000 × 11.5% = $10,925 from her employer (less the 15% contributions tax inside super, so $9,286 actually credited). From year two onward at 12%, that's $11,400 gross / $9,690 net per year, assumed flat for simplicity. Her balance compounds at 7% on the rolling year-end total.

By age 67, Sara is projected to have approximately $870,000 in super — comfortably above ASFA's "comfortable" single-retirement benchmark of around $595,000. About $240,000 of that came from net contributions; the remaining $558,000 is investment earnings compounded over 32 years. Compounding does roughly 70% of the work; her salary does roughly 30%.

Now imagine Sara adds $200/fortnight ($5,200/year) as salary sacrifice from age 35 to 50. Those contributions are taxed at 15% inside super instead of her 30% marginal rate, so she's effectively getting an extra 15 cents per dollar working. Her projected balance at 67 rises to approximately $1.04 million — about $170,000 more from 15 years of modest, pre-tax extra contributions.

Four super profiles we see often — same retirement age (67), same 7% net return, same SG schedule, but very different starting points.

1. Early-career — Age 24, $65,000 salary, $8,000 balance

Graduate, two years into a job. With SG only, she's projected to reach about $760,000 by 67. Add $100/fortnight salary sacrifice from age 24 and she's at $1.08 million — the same dollar contribution made decades earlier is worth more than three times what it would be at age 50, because of 43 years of compounding.

2. Mid-career — Age 45, $140,000 salary, $210,000 balance

Senior individual contributor. SG alone gets him to roughly $910,000 by 67. With $500/fortnight salary sacrifice and using carry-forward concessional contributions (he hasn't used past caps), he could front-load $40,000 in a single year and still be inside his limit. That accelerates the trajectory toward a $1.3M balance while moderating his tax bill in high-income years.

3. Late starter — Age 55, $110,000 salary, $95,000 balance

Returning to full-time work after raising a family. SG alone gets her to about $355,000 by 67. Maxing out concessional contributions ($30,000/yr including the $13,200 employer SG) for 12 years closes a meaningful gap — total projected balance approximately $565,000. The 2018 carry-forward rules (for balances under $500K) let her catch up on unused caps from earlier years if her balance qualifies.

4. Part-time / casual — Age 30, $42,000 salary, $18,000 balance

SG on $42,000 is only about $5,040/yr but compounding still does most of the lifting: by 67 the projected balance is approximately $370,000. With the Government Co-contribution (up to $500/yr if you earn under the threshold and contribute $1,000 of your own money after tax), and a low-income super tax offset (LISTO) up to $500/yr refunding the 15% contributions tax, the same person can lift their balance by about $25,000 over 30 years without changing their take-home pay.

Fees compound too — in the wrong direction. Australian Super fund fees range from about 0.5% p.a. (low-cost industry funds) to 1.5%+ for retail funds. Over 35 years, the difference between a 0.6% fee and a 1.3% fee on a $200,000 balance growing at 7% is roughly $220,000 in lifetime balance. This calculator assumes a net-of-fees return; if you use a gross return like the ASX accumulation index without subtracting fees, you'll over-project. Always run with a "net return after fees" figure.

Insurance premiums deducted from super. Most funds automatically attach death, TPD and income-protection cover. For a 30-year-old, premiums of $400–$800/yr are typical; for a 55-year-old, $1,500–$3,500/yr. Over decades that's tens of thousands of dollars of foregone balance. The default cover can be valuable, but worth reviewing — and tax-deductible to the fund if you don't claim it personally.

Excess contributions tax. If you exceed the $30,000 concessional cap and don't have unused cap from earlier years (under the carry-forward rule for total super balances under $500,000 at the prior 30 June), the excess is added to your assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate, with an additional excess concessional contributions charge. Salary sacrificing right up to the cap is fine; nudging over is expensive.

Division 293 tax for high earners. If your combined income and concessional contributions exceed $250,000, an extra 15% tax is levied on the contributions portion above the threshold. The salary-sacrifice arbitrage still works for high earners, but the after-tax saving is smaller than for someone on a 30% marginal rate.

Sequence-of-returns risk near retirement. Long-run averages of 7% hide a lot of variance. A 30% market drawdown in your last working year (or first retirement year) has an outsized effect on lifetime drawdown sustainability. Most super funds offer life-stage investment options that de-risk as you approach 60. This calculator assumes a constant return rate and is not appropriate for stress-testing drawdown strategies — for that, use ASIC MoneySmart's retirement-planner.

The projection model is a deterministic year-by-year compound — each year's contribution (employer SG plus your voluntary, both reduced by the 15% contributions tax) is added to the prior balance, then the combined total earns the assumed net annual return. The Super Guarantee rate is 11.5% for the part of the projection up to 30 June 2025 and 12% from 1 July 2025 onward per the legislated schedule. The model does not vary returns year-to-year, does not deduct insurance premiums, and does not model balance-dependent fee scales. For a stochastic, fee-and-tax-aware projection, ASIC's MoneySmart calculator is more appropriate.

Sources: ATO — Super Guarantee rates schedule; ATO — Concessional contributions cap ($30,000 for 2025–26); ASFA Retirement Standard; ASIC MoneySmart super calculator; ATO — super co-contribution; ATO — Division 293 tax.

Reviewed: 18 May 2026 · Updated for: 2025–26 financial year (SG 12% from 1 July 2025; concessional cap $30,000) · Editor: AussieCalc Editorial Team