In this guide
Whether you’re just starting out in the workforce or well into your working life, something almost everyone will want to know at some stage is whether their super balance is on track to fund a decent standard of living in retirement.
‘Have I accumulated enough super for my age or is there some catching up to do?’
Read on to find out how your balance compares with others your age.
More importantly, learn how to set a retirement income goal so you can see if you’re on the path to your dream retirement or you need to get your skates on to catch up.
Average super balances by age
When you start to think about how much super you should have, you might wonder how your balance compares to other people your age.
Statistics from March 2024 reveal the following average super balances for members of funds regulated by APRA. It excludes members of self-managed funds (SMSFs) because they are regulated by the ATO.
| Age | Average balance |
|---|---|
| <25 | $7,000 |
| 25–29 | $22,900 |
| 30–34 | $45,600 |
| 35–39 | $73,600 |
| 40–44 | $101,300 |
| 45–49 | $130,300 |
| 50–54 | $163,400 |
| 55–59 | $203,500 |
| 60–64 | $234,400 |
| 65–69 | $263,700 |
| 70–74 | $282,500 |
Members of SMSFs tend to have much higher balances, with the latest available averages (from June 2021) shown below.
| Age | Average balance |
|---|---|
| <25 | $73,539 |
| 25–34 | $116,183 |
| 35–44 | $206,396 |
| 45–49 | $309,263 |
| 50–54 | $435,698 |
| 55–59 | $650,432 |
| 60–64 | $951,687 |
| 65–69 | $1,155,463 |
| 70–74 | $1,270,681 |
Comparing your balance to other people your age is interesting, but the comparison alone can’t tell you whether you’re on track to achieve the retirement you want. A balance that is plenty for one person could be far too small for another because we all have different ideas about the lifestyle we want in retirement and when we plan to retire.
Target retirement income
To find out if your balance is on track, the first step is to estimate the income you want in retirement. So how do you do that?
There is no ‘one size fits all’ answer to retirement income needs – what is enough for you might seem extravagant to someone else, but we can look at some useful rules of thumb to begin answering this question.
