Australian Superannuation Calculator
A A$90,000 salary, age 37, A$50,000 starting balance, invested in a Balanced option and retiring at 67 (30 years), projects to about A$675,076 in today's dollars (A$1,416,018 nominal), based on the 2026-27 Australian financial year (1 July 2026 - 30 June 2027) Super Guarantee (12%) and Moneysmart's published fee and return assumptions. Enter your own numbers below — the projection updates instantly and shows the year-by-year breakdown.
$675,076 in today's dollars at 67
Nominal balance at 67: $1,416,018 — before adjusting for inflation.
Total contributions (net, 30 yrs): $471,334 · Investment growth: $894,684
Division 293 note: at this income level (≥ $250,000) an extra 15% Division 293 tax may apply to some concessional contributions — not deducted from the balance above, since it's billed separately by the ATO.
Year 1 contribution breakdown
| Employer SG (12% of salary) | $10,800 |
| Salary sacrifice (pre-tax) | $0 |
| Contributions tax (15%) | −$1,620 |
| Net concessional added to fund | $9,180 |
| After-tax contribution added | $0 |
| Admin fee | −$114 |
Assumptions (Moneysmart/ATO defaults — edit to test your own)
Defaults: Moneysmart investment-return and fee assumptions (2026-27 Australian financial year (1 July 2026 - 30 June 2027)) — insurance defaults to $0 here (Moneysmart's own recommendation for a pure balance projection; its calculator defaults to $599/yr including insurance). Investment returns are already net of the 15% earnings tax and fund fees.
Superannuation Guarantee 12%, contributions caps and Division 293 threshold for 2026-27 Australian financial year (1 July 2026 - 30 June 2027) verified against the ATO (ato.gov.au). Fee and investment-return defaults from Moneysmart's (ASIC) superannuation calculator. This is a projection based on published assumptions, not a guarantee — actual returns vary and this isn't financial advice. How we calculate →
How this super projection works
Every year to retirement, this calculator adds your employer's Super Guarantee (SG, 12.0% of your salary) plus any extra salary sacrifice, deducts the 15% contributions tax super funds pay on concessional (before-tax) contributions, adds any after-tax top-ups at full value, then applies investment growth and subtracts admin fees — using the same mid-year timing convention Moneysmart uses (contributions get roughly half a year of that year's investment return, on average).
The headline number is shown in today's dollars — the nominal projected balance deflated by cumulative inflation (2.5% p.a.) — because a dollar decades from now won't buy what it does today. The nominal figure is shown underneath for reference. This is a projection based on published assumptions, not a guarantee: investment returns, wages and fees will actually vary year to year.
Example: on A$90,000/yr from age 37, retiring at 67, the projected balance is A$675,076 in today's dollars (A$471,334 from net contributions, A$894,684 from investment growth, on top of the A$50,000 starting balance).
Super Guarantee 12% and Payday Super (from 1 July 2026)
The Super Guarantee rate is 12.0% for 2026-27 Australian financial year (1 July 2026 - 30 June 2027) — the final legislated increase (from 11.5%) took effect 1 July 2025 and there are no further scheduled rises. From 1 July 2026, "Payday Super" applies: employers must pay SG each payday on your "qualifying earnings" instead of quarterly, and the old quarterly maximum contribution base is replaced by an annual maximum contribution base of A$270,830 — your employer isn't required to pay SG on qualifying earnings above that amount in a year.
On a A$90,000 salary, year-one SG is A$10,800 gross, and after the 15% contributions tax, A$9,180 actually lands in your fund.
2026-27 contribution caps
The concessional (before-tax) contributions cap — covering employer SG, salary sacrifice and personal deductible contributions — is A$32,500 for 2026-27 Australian financial year (1 July 2026 - 30 June 2027), up from $30,000 the year before. Go over it and the excess is generally added to your assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate (with an offset for the 15% already paid) — this calculator flags it with a warning when your SG plus salary sacrifice would exceed the cap.
The non-concessional (after-tax) cap is A$130,000 (4× the concessional cap) — under 75, you can "bring forward" up to 3 years' worth in a single year, subject to your total super balance. High earners should also know about Division 293 tax: an extra 15% on some concessional contributions once combined income and contributions exceed A$250,000 (a static threshold, not indexed since 2017).
Salary sacrifice vs after-tax contributions
Salary sacrifice (pre-tax) reduces your taxable salary and only costs 15% contributions tax going into your fund — usually a bigger boost than after-tax contributions for anyone on a marginal tax rate above 15%, as long as you stay under the concessional cap. On A$75,000/yr from age 30 to 67, adding A$100/week salary sacrifice projects to about A$1,018,617 in today's dollars — roughly A$248,497 more than the A$770,120 projected with SG alone.
After-tax (non-concessional) contributions already had income tax paid on them outside super, so they go in at full value with no 15% contributions tax on entry — useful for topping up close to retirement, as in a A$130,000/yr, age 45→60 example with A$5,000/yr after-tax top-ups, projecting to about A$654,123 in today's dollars — close to ASFA's A$630,000 "comfortable retirement" benchmark for a single person, despite retiring at the preservation age of 60.
Fees quietly compound too
A fixed A$59/yr admin fee plus 0.11% of your balance sounds small, but it compounds against you every year, the same way returns compound for you. On the A$90,000, 30-year example, doubling the fixed fee and tripling the percentage fee (a rough proxy for switching from a low-cost to a higher-cost fund) reduces the projected nominal balance by about A$62,018 — money that never gets to compound. Use the assumptions panel to test your own fund's fees against the Moneysmart defaults.
Frequently asked questions
How much super will I have when I retire?
It depends on your age, salary, starting balance, investment option and any extra contributions — enter your own numbers above. As a reference point, A$90,000/yr from age 37 to 67 with a Balanced option projects to about A$675,076 in today's dollars.
How much super do I need to retire comfortably?
ASFA's Retirement Standard puts a "comfortable" retirement for a single person at about A$630,000 at age 67 (own home, no mortgage); a "modest" retirement is around A$110,000, or A$340,000 if renting. These are benchmarks, not targets specific to you.
How is super taxed?
Concessional (before-tax) contributions — employer SG and salary sacrifice — are taxed at 15% going into your fund. Investment earnings inside your fund are also taxed at up to 15% while you're building your balance (accumulation phase); this calculator's default return assumptions already have that tax built in. Once you move into retirement phase (an account-based pension), earnings become tax-free up to the transfer balance cap (A$2,100,000 for 2026-27 Australian financial year (1 July 2026 - 30 June 2027)).
What's the difference between salary sacrifice and the employer Super Guarantee?
The Super Guarantee (12.0% of your salary for 2026-27 Australian financial year (1 July 2026 - 30 June 2027)) is compulsory and paid by your employer on top of your salary. Salary sacrifice is optional and voluntary — you ask your employer to redirect part of your before-tax salary into super instead of your pay, which lowers your take-home pay now but adds to your fund at only 15% tax.
Can I access my super before retirement age?
Generally not — super is preserved until you reach your preservation age (60 for anyone born on or after 1 July 1964) and meet a condition of release, such as retiring. Limited early-access rules exist for specific hardship or compassionate grounds, which this calculator doesn't model.
What are the super contribution caps for 2026-27?
The concessional (before-tax) cap is A$32,500 and the non-concessional (after-tax) cap is A$130,000 for 2026-27 Australian financial year (1 July 2026 - 30 June 2027). Go over the concessional cap and the excess is generally taxed at your marginal rate on top of the 15% already paid — this calculator warns you if your inputs would exceed it.
Researched & verified by the Calcuris Data & Research Team. How we build and check our tools →