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How much super is enough?
When it comes to super, one-size-fits-all does not apply. But if you’re looking at getting your super sorted, knowing how your savings stack up can help with the next steps.
On this page:
What’s my super goal?
The magic number to save for your retirement isn’t a simple sum. That’s because we’re all so different. Super won’t necessarily be the only money you’ll be spending in retirement. And the way you live and your living costs won’t be the same as everybody else either.
What does a healthy super balance look like at retirement?
Having said that, there are lots of resources available to help you get a rough idea of what your super savings goal should be. One estimate says a couple will need a super balance of $690,000 at retirement to give them $73,337 every year to live on. You can take a look at more figures like these to help you run the numbers for your future in retirement.
Run the numbers for your retirement
Is my super on track now?
Knowing if you’ll have enough super when you retire starts with checking your account balance now. Perhaps you have more than one fund and you’ll need to track down all your super accounts to find out how much you have.
Once you know how much your super savings is currently, you can use a Retirement Tracker calculator like this one to find out what your balance is likely to be by the time you retire.
It’s important to keep in mind that the total super savings needed to live comfortably in retirement depends on what you’re planning to do as well as the lifestyle that you’ve been used to during your working life. Our run the numbers information below can help give you an idea of how much you’ll need saved by the time you retire.
How can I catch up?
If you’d like to see your super growing faster towards the balance you think you’ll need in retirement, there are a couple of ways to do this:
- Your Super Guarantee payments from your employer are a percentage of your salary. When your salary goes up, your Super Guarantee payments will automatically go up and will help you save more super.
- You don’t have to rely on your employer to save more. You can pay yourself super by making personal contributions. Learn how to Grow your balance
Saving a little extra in your super now can make a big difference to your balance in 30, 20 or even 10 years’ time.
Run the numbers: How much super is enough and how does your current balance stack up
When it comes to money, we’re all wired differently. Setting your sights on a super goal for the income you’ll need to live comfortably when you retire, could be the perfect way to motivate you to get your super sorted.
Expert tip
"If you had $50k in a bank account you could access, you would know how much was in there, probably to the dollar! As well as the fees you were paying and interest you were earning. Your money in super is no different. It's your money, take control over it."
So what does a comfortable or a modest lifestyle look like? The Retirement Standard also includes a weekly and monthly budget for a couple and single person in retirement and detailed breakdown of what their money buys them.
Here’s the annual budget the Retirement Standard says you’d need to live modestly or comfortably if you retired today, and are no longer paying rent or home loan repayments as part of your day-to-day living costs.
| Annual spending for... | Modest lifestyle | Comfortable lifestyle |
|---|---|---|
| Couple | $47,731 | $73,337 |
| Single person | $33,134 | $52,085 |
This table shows what sort of lifestyle you can expect with these different levels of income. The final column describes what life might be like if you only have the Age Pension as income. This is a regular Centrelink payment you may be eligible for when you’re retired.
| Comfortable lifestyle | Modest lifestyle | Age Pension |
|---|---|---|
| Top level private health insurance, doctor/specialist visits, pharmacy needs | Basic private health insurance, limited gap payments | No private health insurance |
| Fast reliable internet/telco subscription, computer/android mobile/streaming services | Basic mobile, modest internet data allowance | Very basic mobile and limited internet connectivity |
| Own a reasonable car, car insurance and maintenance/upkeep | Owning a cheaper, older, more basic car | Limited budget to own, maintain or repair a car |
| Regular leisure activities including club membership, cinema visits, exhibitions, dance/yoga classes | Infrequent leisure activities, occasional trip to the cinema | Rare trips to the cinema |
| Home repairs, updates and maintenance to kitchen and bathroom appliances over 20 years | Limited budget for home repairs, household appliances | Struggle to pay for repairs, such as leaky roofs or major plumbing problem |
| Regular professional haircuts | Budget haircuts | Less frequent haircuts, or self haircuts |
| Confidence to use air conditioning in the home, afford all utilities | Need to keep a close watch on all utility costs and make sacrifices | Limited budget for home heating in winter |
| Occasional restaurant meals, home-delivery meals, take-away coffee | Limited meals out at inexpensive restaurants, infrequent home-delivery or take-away | Only local club special meals or inexpensive take-away |
| Replace worn-out clothing and footwear items, modest wardrobe updates | Limited budget to replace or update work items | Very basis clothing and footwear budget |
| Annual domestic trip to visit family, one overseas trip every seven years | Annual domestic trip or a few short breaks | Occasional short break or day trip in your own city |
Finally, it’s worth keeping in mind that how you’re used to spending money before retirement will have a lot to do with how much you’ll spend in retirement.
This is why there’s a rule of thumb that you should expect your spending in retirement to be between two-thirds and three-quarters of what you spend just before you retire.
The important thing to remember is that everyone will have a different lifestyle, now and when they retire. So there is no ‘right’ goal for where you should be with your super now or when you start using your super as income. Instead, take these numbers as a starting point to get you thinking about how important this money could be to you.
Check out How do I get my super sorted? to start looking after your retirement savings.
