Superannuation Calculator Australia: How Much Super Will You Have at Retirement?

Superannuation is Australia's compulsory retirement savings system — and understanding how it works can be the difference between a comfortable retirement and relying entirely on the Age Pension. The rules changed materially on 1 July 2025, with the SG rate reaching its legislated target. This guide brings you up to date.

The Super Guarantee Rate: 12% from 1 July 2025

The most important recent change: the Super Guarantee (SG) rate permanently reached 12% from 1 July 2025. This is the final scheduled increase under current legislation. It applies to your ordinary time earnings (OTE) — your regular pay for ordinary hours, excluding overtime.

SG Rate History

For an employee earning $85,000, the increase from 11.5% to 12% means an extra $425/year in super — which over 30 years at 7% compounds to over $40,000 in additional retirement savings.

Maximum Super Contribution Base

Your employer is only required to pay SG on OTE up to the Maximum Super Contribution Base (MSCB) — $62,500 per quarter ($250,000/year) for 2025–26. Earnings above this cap do not attract mandatory SG, though some employment contracts provide super on total salary regardless.

Contribution Caps 2025–26

Concessional Cap: $30,000/year

Concessional contributions are before-tax: SG from your employer, salary sacrifice, and personal contributions you claim a tax deduction for. The cap is $30,000 for 2025–26. Both SG and salary sacrifice count toward this combined limit.

If you earn $150,000 and your employer pays 12% SG ($18,000), you only have $12,000 of concessional cap left for salary sacrifice.

Exceeding the cap: the excess is taxed at your marginal rate minus a 15% offset — you lose the tax concession.

Non-Concessional Cap: $120,000/year

After-tax contributions with money you have already paid income tax on. If your total super balance exceeds $2 million (the 2025–26 transfer balance cap), your non-concessional cap is nil.

Carry-Forward Concessional Contributions

If your total super balance is below $500,000, you can carry forward unused concessional cap amounts from up to five prior years. Powerful for self-employed people, those who had career breaks, or anyone with a large taxable income event (bonus, property sale).

How Super Is Taxed: Three Stages

Stage 1 — Contributions Tax

Concessional contributions are taxed at 15% on entry. For high earners (income + concessional contributions > $250,000), Division 293 tax adds another 15% — bringing the effective rate to 30%. Even at 30%, this is typically lower than the top marginal income tax rate of 45%.

Stage 2 — Earnings Tax Inside the Fund

During the accumulation phase, your super fund pays 15% tax on investment earnings. This significantly reduces the net return compared to the gross stated return. At a 7% gross return, the effective return after fund earnings tax is approximately 5.95%.

In retirement phase (account-based pension), fund earnings are taxed at 0% — completely tax-free.

Stage 3 — Withdrawal Tax

Preservation Age: When Can You Access Super?

For anyone born after 1 July 1964 — the vast majority of today's workforce — preservation age is 60. Reaching age 60 is not enough alone; you must also satisfy a "condition of release," most commonly retiring from an employment arrangement with no intention of returning to work for more than 10 hours per week.

The Age Pension age is 67, separate from preservation age. Retiring at 60 means a seven-year gap where you must fully self-fund from super.

Salary Sacrifice: The Most Effective Super Boost

Salary sacrifice redirects pre-tax salary into super. The financial benefit:

Example — $90,000 salary, 34.5% marginal rate (including Medicare):

• Salary sacrifice $10,000/year
• Tax inside fund: 15%
• Tax saving: 34.5% − 15% = 19.5% × $10,000 = $1,950/year saved in tax
• Over 20 years at 5.95% net return: this adds approximately $72,000 to your retirement balance

Payday Super: From 1 July 2026

From 1 July 2026, employers must pay SG with every payroll run rather than quarterly. This benefits employees through more frequent compounding — and benefits the system by reducing unpaid super.

5 Strategies to Maximise Your Super

1. Make salary sacrifice contributions — Even $100/month extra has a large long-term impact compounded over 20–30 years.
2. Check for lost super — The ATO estimates billions sit in unclaimed accounts. Use MyGov to find and consolidate.
3. Use carry-forward contributions — If your balance is under $500,000 and you had low contributions in prior years, you can make a large concessional contribution in high-income years.
4. Make spouse contributions — Contributing after-tax to a lower-income spouse's super earns an 18% tax offset on up to $3,000 (if their income is below $37,000, tapering to $40,000).
5. Choose low-fee funds — A 0.5% lower annual fee on a $400,000 balance saves $2,000/year — and that saving compounds too.