Superannuation calculator
Estimate what your super could be worth when you retire, in today’s dollars.
What this does, and what it cannot do
This is an estimate of an accumulation super balance at a chosen retirement age. It assumes steady contributions and steady returns for decades, which is not how any working life or any market behaves. Its value is in comparing scenarios — what changes if you contribute more, retire later, or pay lower fees — not in the specific dollar figure.
It does not work for defined benefit accounts, it does not model an income stream after you retire, and it does not take account of anything particular to you. It is not financial advice. Do not rely on it to make a decision about a financial product; for that, consider advice from someone who holds an Australian financial services licence.
Where you are now
How it is invested
Returns are net of the 15% earnings tax and net of investment fees. The tax is already inside the number; it is not deducted again.
Anything extra you put in
Before-tax contributions are trimmed to fit the $32,500 cap rather than allowed to breach it.
At age 67
$596,998
in today’s dollars, after 37 years
- Starting balance
- $50,000
- Employer contributions
- $399,600
- Your contributions
- $0
- Government contributions
- $0
- Investment earnings
- $243,071
- Contributions tax
- −$59,940
- Fees and insurance
- −$35,733
What moves the number
Another $5,000 a year of salary sacrifice would add $241,883.
In the first year your employer pays $10,800, and $1,620 of it goes to contributions tax.
What the calculator assumes, and why
These are ASIC’s own default assumptions for superannuation calculators, published with the MoneySmart calculator for 2026-27. They are used here unchanged. That is the reason they are reasonable: they are the regulator’s, reviewed against APRA product statistics and an independent actuarial outlook, not figures chosen by this site.
- Inflation
- 2.5% a year, plus 1.2% for the rise in community living standards. Every figure on this page is deflated by the combined 3.7% so it is stated in today’s dollars.
- Wages
- Your salary is assumed to grow at the same 3.7%, which is why it stays the same number here.
- Investment return
- Balanced, 6.1% a year net of the 15% earnings tax and net of investment fees. After inflation that is 2.31% a year in real terms.
- Employer contributions
- 12% of your salary, capped at the maximum contributions base of $270,830.
- Tax
- 15% on before-tax contributions, and another 15% under Division 293 above $250,000. Tax on money taken out before 60 is not modelled.
- Caps
- $32,500 before tax and $130,000 after tax, both held steady in today’s dollars because they are indexed to wages. The transfer balance cap of $2,100,000 is indexed to CPI instead, so it falls slightly each year in today’s dollars.
- Government contributions
- The co-contribution of up to $500 and the low income super tax offset of up to $500 are both included where you qualify.
- Fees and insurance
- $59 a year plus 0.11% of the balance, and $599 a year of insurance premiums. Change them above if you know your own.
The limitation that matters most: a single assumed return applied every year for decades produces a smooth line that no real fund produces. Two years of poor returns just before you retire affect the outcome far more than the same two years at the start, and nothing on this page shows that. Treat the number as the middle of a wide range, not as a forecast.
Superannuation calculator FAQs
- How much super will I have when I retire?
- It depends on your balance now, how much goes in each year, how long it compounds, the return after fees and tax, and inflation. The calculator projects all five forward to your chosen retirement age and states the result in today's dollars, so it can be compared with what you spend today.
- What is the super guarantee rate for 2026-27?
- 12% of your ordinary time earnings. An employer has no super guarantee obligation on earnings above the maximum contributions base, which is $270,830 for 2026-27.
- How much can I put into super in 2026-27?
- Up to $32,500 in before-tax contributions, which includes your employer's, and up to $130,000 in after-tax contributions. Unused before-tax cap from the previous five years can be added if your total super balance was under $500,000 at the previous 30 June.
- How much super should I have at my age?
- There is no official benchmark, and any figure quoted as one is somebody's rule of thumb. What this calculator can tell you is what your own balance is on track to become, which is a more useful question than how you compare with an average.
- When can I access my super?
- Generally from age 60, once you also meet a condition of release, most commonly retiring or turning 65. Preservation age is 60 for everyone still working today.
- Why is the result shown in today's dollars?
- Because a balance decades away in future dollars cannot be compared with anything you know the price of. ASIC requires a superannuation calculator to state the result in today's dollars, deflated by 2.5% inflation plus a 1.2% rise in community living standards.
- Does the calculator take the 15% earnings tax off the return?
- The 15% earnings tax is already inside the assumed return, which is stated net of tax and net of investment fees. Deducting it a second time would understate the result, and it is the most common reason two Australian super calculators disagree.
- Does this calculator give financial advice?
- No. It applies published rates and assumptions to the figures you enter. It does not know your circumstances, it does not recommend a super fund, and it is not a recommendation to contribute, switch or withdraw. For advice about your own situation, speak to someone who holds an Australian financial services licence.
Super is paid on top of your salary. To see what your pay looks like after tax with your employer contributions alongside it, use the pay calculator.