Super Calculator (Retirement Balance)

Guide

How the projection works

Each month, 12% of your salary goes into super from your employer, plus any extra before-tax amount you add. The fund takes 15% contributions tax from each contribution. The rest is added to the balance, which earns the investment return less fees, added each month. Salary rises once a year, by inflation (CPI) or by a percentage you type in, and the today’s-dollars figure divides the final balance by inflation over the same years.

For example, $50,000.00 now, a $90,000.00 salary, a 7% return and 0.8% fees for 30 years grows to $1,365,539.27, which is $651,010.86 in today’s dollars at 2.5% inflation. The return, fees, salary growth and inflation are placeholders, not forecasts.

Employer contributions

The super guarantee rate is 12% from 1 July 2025, which the ATO describes as the final scheduled increase (linked below). On a $90,000.00 salary that is $10,800.00 a year before contributions tax. Some awards and agreements pay more, so type your own rate if it is higher. The guarantee applies to ordinary time earnings up to a maximum contribution base, which this calculator does not apply.

Contributions tax and the cap

Before-tax (concessional) contributions are taxed at 15% inside the fund (ATO, linked below). There is a yearly cap on them, $32,500 for 2026-27, and unused amounts can be carried forward for up to five years. If the contributions in your projection go above the cap, the calculator shows a warning, because extra tax can apply.

Fees matter over a long time

On the example, fees of 1.5% instead of 0.8% a year would leave $1,185,590.09 instead of $1,365,539.27 after 30 years, which is $179,949.18 less. Some funds charge a fixed dollar amount a year instead, or as well. Choose A fixed amount a year to try that: on the example, a fixed $300.00 a year (and no percentage fee) would leave $1,581,951.32. Check the total fees and costs on your fund’s product disclosure statement.

What extra contributions add

An extra $5,000.00 a year before tax adds $369,684.89 to the example, taking the balance to $1,735,224.16. That is after 15% contributions tax, and it counts towards the cap. The table under the result shows other amounts. Retiring five years earlier, after 25 years, would leave $925,832.28 on the same example.

What is not included

Insurance premiums taken from your balance, tax on withdrawals, government co-contributions, the Age Pension and any change to the rules are not included. Returns are never smooth, so a real fund will rise and fall. Your fund’s own projection, which may use different assumptions, is a useful comparison.

Common questions