ASFA Retirement Standard

Are you on track to retire?

Project your super to retirement and see it against what a comfortable retirement actually costs — then see exactly what it takes to close the gap.

Your age

Salary (before tax)

Current super balance

Retirement age

Extra into super / yr

Household

At 67, your super is projected to reach

$891,088

in today's dollars — about 141% of a comfortable single retirement.

You're on track for a comfortable retirement

Projected

$891,088

Modest

$110,000

Comfortable

$630,000

You're on track 🎉

You're projected to clear the comfortable benchmark by $261,088. The question worth asking now: could you retire earlier?

See when you could retire early

Projected in today's dollars assuming a 5% real return after inflation, 12% employer super, salary flat in real terms, and 15% contributions tax. The $630,000 comfortable target is the March 2026 ASFA Retirement Standard for a single ($55,923/yr), which assumes you own your home and draw a part Age Pension. Estimates only — not financial advice.

Expected real return5%

After inflation. Our default is 5% for a balanced/growth fund.

Extra into super / yr (before tax)

On top of your 12% employer super.

Projected at 67 (32 years)

Employer only

$891,088

12% super, no extras

With your extras

$891,088

your voluntary top-ups

At the cap

$2,318,377

+$1,427,289 vs employer-only

Year-by-year balance (today's dollars)

Age	Employer only	Your extras	At the cap
35	$50,000	$50,000	$50,000
36	$61,170	$61,170	$80,125
37	$72,899	$72,899	$111,756
38	$85,213	$85,213	$144,969
39	$98,144	$98,144	$179,843
40	$111,721	$111,721	$216,460
41	$125,977	$125,977	$254,908
42	$140,946	$140,946	$295,278
43	$156,664	$156,664	$337,667
44	$173,167	$173,167	$382,175
45	$190,495	$190,495	$428,909
46	$208,690	$208,690	$477,979
47	$227,794	$227,794	$529,503
48	$247,854	$247,854	$583,604
49	$268,917	$268,917	$640,409
50	$291,033	$291,033	$700,054
51	$314,254	$314,254	$762,682
52	$338,637	$338,637	$828,441
53	$364,239	$364,239	$897,488
54	$391,121	$391,121	$969,987
55	$419,347	$419,347	$1,046,112
56	$448,984	$448,984	$1,126,042
57	$480,103	$480,103	$1,209,970
58	$512,778	$512,778	$1,298,093
59	$547,087	$547,087	$1,390,623
60	$583,112	$583,112	$1,487,779
61	$620,937	$620,937	$1,589,793
62	$660,654	$660,654	$1,696,907
63	$702,357	$702,357	$1,809,378
64	$746,145	$746,145	$1,927,472
65	$792,122	$792,122	$2,051,470
66	$840,398	$840,398	$2,181,669
67retire	$891,088	$891,088	$2,318,377

Add an extra amount above to split the “Your extras” column from employer-only.

Concessional-cap headroom

Employer SG

$10,200

12% of salary

Concessional cap

$32,500

2026-27 pre-tax

Room left

$22,300

extra before the cap

You could add up to $22,300 more pre-tax this year, taxed at just 15% inside super. Unused cap can be carried forward up to 5 years while your total super balance stays under $500,000.

Your balance over a lifetime

Building it (contributions)Spending it (drawdown)Retirement at 67

How long will it last?

Annual retirement spend (today's dollars)

Defaults to the March 2026 ASFA comfortable single budget ($55,923/yr).

Lasts 33 years

Spending $55,923/yr, your $891,088 would run dry around age 100.

Balance at retirement

$891,088

age 67

First-year draw rate

6.3%

spend ÷ balance

Sustainable spend

$44,554

at 5% real, forever

Real-dollar drawdown: the balance earns 5% after inflation each year, then your spend comes out. Below the sustainable line you live off earnings alone; above it you eat into capital. The Age Pension isn't included, so real-world money usually stretches further.

Sensitivity — balance at 67

Real return	No extra	+$7k/yr	+$15k/yr	+$22k/yr
3%	$584k	$916k	$1.25m	$1.58m
4%	$719k	$1.12m	$1.51m	$1.91m
5%you	$891k	$1.37m	$1.84m	$2.32m
6%	$1.11m	$1.68m	$2.26m	$2.83m
7%	$1.39m	$2.09m	$2.78m	$3.48m

Each cell projects your balance to 67 at that return and yearly extra. Columns step from nothing up to your full $22,300 concessional-cap headroom; the highlighted row is your 5% assumption. A single percentage point of return moves the result more than most people expect over 32 years.

ASFA Retirement Standard — March 2026

Lifestyle	Household	Yearly budget	Super needed at 67
modest	singleyou	$36,434	$110,000
modest	couple	$52,473	$120,000
comfortable	singleyou	$55,923	$630,000
comfortable	couple	$78,566	$730,000

Assumes you own your home outright, draw your balance down to zero by age 92, and receive a part Age Pension.

Projected in today's dollars at a 5% real return after inflation, 12% employer super, salary flat in real terms and 15% contributions tax. Both the “your extras” and “at the cap” paths assume you keep contributing every year to retirement. Estimates only — not financial advice.

A super balance on its own tells you nothing — the same number can be excellent at 35 and worrying at 60. This page turns it into the two figures that matter: what your super grows to by the time you stop working, and how that compares with what retirement in Australia costs.

The benchmark is the ASFA Retirement Standard, published each quarter for singles and couples at a modest and a comfortable level. If you fall short, the tool also works backwards to the extra pre-tax contribution per year that would close the gap.

How this is calculated

1
Your balance grows one year at a time
The model steps forward one year for every year between your age now and your retirement age. Each year the balance earns the assumed return, then contributions land: the Super Guarantee rate of 12% of salary plus any extra you add, less 15% contributions tax.
2
Everything stays in today's dollars
The return is real — what's left after inflation — and your salary is held flat in real terms, so nothing needs mentally deflating. It also makes the result comparable to the ASFA budgets, which are published in today's money.
3
Your projection is set against the ASFA benchmarks
The projected balance is compared with the lump sums ASFA says a single person or a couple needs at 67. Above comfortable and you're on track; between modest and comfortable you're short of comfortable; below both and you're under the benchmarks.
4
The gap becomes a yearly contribution
Any shortfall is divided by the future value of one dollar contributed each year over your remaining years at the same return, then grossed up for the 15% contributions tax. An abstract gap becomes a pre-tax figure you can hold against your pay.
5
The advanced panel re-runs the model
Change the real return, compare employer-only against your extras against contributing to the concessional cap, read the year-by-year table, and run the drawdown to see how long the balance lasts at a given spend.

What it assumes

A steady real return every year — 5% after inflation by default, and meant to be net of fees. Markets don't hand out averages, and a bad run just before you retire hurts far more than the same run at 30.
Your salary stays flat in real terms and contributions continue every year to retirement. Promotions, career breaks, part-time years and time out of the workforce aren't modelled.
Employer contributions are the Super Guarantee, taxed at 15% going in. The headline doesn't check whether your extras breach the annual concessional cap; the advanced panel shows your remaining headroom.
The ASFA lump sums assume you own your home outright, draw the balance to zero by age 92 and receive a part Age Pension. Retire still renting or paying a mortgage and your real target is higher.
Only your super is projected — other savings, shares, property, a partner's balance and any defined benefit entitlement sit outside the model.

Common questions

Is the comfortable standard really what I need?

It's a budget standard, not a rule. ASFA prices a lifestyle for a retiree who owns their home outright and assumes a part Age Pension tops up the drawdown. A fair yardstick if that describes you, too low if housing will still cost you money.

Does the projection include the Age Pension?

No — the figure shown is super only. The pension sits behind the benchmark instead: the ASFA lump sums assume a part pension is received alongside the drawdown. To see your own entitlement, use the Age Pension tool.

I chose couple — why does my balance look so far behind?

The ASFA couple figures are for the household combined, while the tool projects only the balance you entered. Run it for each of you and add the projections before judging yourselves against the couple target.

Why doesn't contributing more later make up for starting late?

Because growth here compounds rather than adds. A dollar contributed in your thirties earns returns for decades; one contributed at 60 barely gets time to work. That's why the extra-per-year figure climbs so steeply as the years remaining shrink.

Can I get at it earlier if I'm ahead?

Super is preserved: generally unavailable until your preservation age — 60 for anyone born on or after 1 July 1964 — and then only once you meet a condition of release. Retiring earlier means funding those years outside super.

Sources: ASFA Retirement Standard (March 2026 quarter) · ATO — super rates and thresholds · Services Australia — Age Pension · All data sources

General information only, not financial advice. Figures are estimates based on the inputs and assumptions above and don't account for your personal circumstances. Confirm anything important with the relevant authority or a licensed adviser.

How this is calculated

Your balance grows one year at a time

Everything stays in today's dollars

Your projection is set against the ASFA benchmarks

The gap becomes a yearly contribution

The advanced panel re-runs the model

What it assumes

Common questions

Is the comfortable standard really what I need?

Does the projection include the Age Pension?

I chose couple — why does my balance look so far behind?

Why doesn't contributing more later make up for starting late?

Can I get at it earlier if I'm ahead?