Australian super · your age, your circumstances
How much super should I have?
Your age gives you a starting point. Your housing, working years and the life you want in retirement give the number meaning.
Choose your age for a published peer benchmark, worked examples and a planner you can adjust. There is no compulsory balance you must have on a particular birthday.
A peer balance and a retirement target answer different questions
A peer statistic describes people in a published dataset. A target asks how much a particular future lifestyle could cost and which income sources might pay for it. Being above a median does not prove you can fund annual overseas travel or long-term rent; being below it does not mean you have failed.
The guides keep these questions separate. They show the median and mean for your age band, then calculate original examples using your exact number of years to retirement. You can change the starting balance, earnings, household, housing and travel assumptions on the same page.
| Age band | Median balance | Mean balance |
|---|---|---|
| 18–24 | $6,071 | $9,783 |
| 25–29 | $21,395 | $27,822 |
| 30–34 | $40,426 | $54,009 |
| 35–39 | $69,200 | $91,265 |
| 40–44 | $100,330 | $134,054 |
| 45–49 | $131,705 | $182,866 |
| 50–54 | $161,375 | $238,616 |
| 55–59 | $185,120 | $301,151 |
| 60–64 | $203,326 | $371,379 |
| 65–69 | $218,631 | $437,422 |
Source: ASFA 2026 balance report, Table 2, using ATO data at June 2024. Published August 2026; excludes people with nil balances. No single-age statistic is inferred from these bands.
Build the plan around the household you expect to have
One person and a couple have different costs, but a couple’s budget is not simply twice a single person’s. Housing creates another large difference: an outright owner still pays rates, insurance and maintenance; a renter needs a continuing housing allowance; someone with a mortgage must decide how to fund the remaining debt.
Location is a reason to check actual costs. An inner-city apartment, an outer-suburban house and a regional property can have very different rates, transport and maintenance even within the same state. The location selector provides a checklist while you enter local costs. It does not invent a city premium.
What these estimates can and cannot tell you
The planner is an educational scenario tool. Its results use constant returns and spending in today’s dollars, with clear assumptions about contributions and fees. It does not predict markets, work out your Age Pension, assess tax eligibility or recommend a super fund. A detailed retirement planner is the next step when you need those interactions.
For transparency, the calculations, source dates and known omissions are documented in our methodology. The guides are published by SuperGuru Group; see our editorial policy for how original content and automated calculations are produced.