How Much Money Should I Have in Superannuation?

From my 20 years of working in the financial advice space, a question I regularly get asked is ‘do I have enough super’?

Now this question comes from clients from all different age groups and is a popular topic for Australian’s to compare the progress of their superannuation balance with friends, work colleagues and family who may be in a similar life stage.  

Now the boring answer is that it depends largely on what lifestyle you want in retirement, and of course, when you want to retire.

However, it’s worthwhile taking a deeper look at the research that is available to help benchmark yourself as a starting point, and to see how you may be tracking for a comfortable retirement.

In this article I’ll show you the average superannuation for someone in your age group, how you might be tracking for a ‘comfortable’ retirement and what you can do now to boost your super while still in your working years.

I’ll also share some interesting trends from the Australia’s peak superannuation body, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (or ASFA) based on the latest research paper from October 2025.

Industry benchmarks

In October 2025 ASFA released a research paper which analysed Australian super balances as at June 2023 as well as how the superannuation is system functioning.

According to ASFA:

• Only just over 30% of Australians currently retire with enough savings to meet the ASFA Comfortable Retirement Standard
• However, this figure is expected to rise to 50% by 2050 as the superannuation system matures and now that the employers are mandated to contribute 12% of your pay from July 2025

Now a ‘comfortable’ retirement standard is by no means luxurious, but it would allow you to approach retirement with more spending freedom, more holidays and less financial worries than say a ‘modest’ retirement standard. In dollar terms, a comfortable retirement for a couple would provide a retirement income budget of $76,500 per annum and $54,200 per annum for a single person. 

A 30-year-old today, earning an average wage, with $30,000 already in super, is on track to retire with around $610,000 in today’s dollars — above the $595,000 needed for a comfortable retirement as a single person.

For a couple, the recommended superannuation savings goal is $690,000 for a comfortable retirement. 

So let’s take a look at the data captured by ASFA, which gathered a snapshot of superannuation balances reported to the ATO as at 30 June 2023, which was the most up to date data.

The average superannuation balance across all Australians was $172,834, with the median or “middle” figure being $60,037.

The median balance can sometimes provide a more accurate snapshot, because the ‘average’ figures is skewed by the very large or very small balances or “outliers”.

Most Australians are closer to the median, if we don’t include some of these outliers.

ASFA also found:

• Average balance for men aged 15+: ~$192,000 or median of $68,000
• Average balance for women aged 15+: ~$155,000 or median of $54,000

Below shows the details on the average and median balances at different age groups, shown in different tables for females and males.

For example, for someone aged between 55-59, the average superannuation balance is $242,945 for a female and $319,743 for a male.

What’s also interesting to note, is that the data has also captured the top 25% and 10% account balances for each age bracket.

For example, a female in the age bracket 55-59 with a balance of at least $306,986 would be in the top 25% of account balances. To be in the top 10%, they would have at least $576,249.

For a male in the same age bracket, a balance of at least $427,627 would put them in the top 25%, and with a balance of least $762,968 they would fall in the top 10%.

While the gender gap may be closing, especially approaching retirement, the time out of the workforce in the 30-40 age brackets to raise children really has an impact on the “compounding” growth of superannuation for women, which is quite significant.

ASFA also found:

• Around 23% of women aged 60–64 have no super at all,  compared to 13% of men.
• Males held around 56.4% of total superannuation assets as at June 2023, with females 43.6%, which was up from 41.9% five years earlier.
• The average superannuation investment return in the accumulation phase over the last 30 years is around 7.5% per annum.
• Couples are more likely to reach ASFA Comfortable retirement standards than single people. 

While these figures indicate the average balances as at 30 June 2023, they don’t indicate what you should have at each life stage to track your progress in achieving a ‘comfortable’ retirement goal.

Rather than compare yourself to historical average median balances, you would be better guided reviewing the ASFA Super detective online tool that provides a more realistic benchmark on what balance you should have at your age to hit the projected ‘comfortable’ retirement standard.

Using ASFA benchmark figures, this table estimates how much super you should have in super at five-year age intervals to reach a comfortable retirement at age 67.

So, for a 45 year old, you should have $226,000 as an approximate super balance now to reach a comfortable retirement savings figure of $595,000 at age 67.

Importantly, these figures are only guidelines and not rules, as they don’t take into account a whole host or circumstances like someone’s debt, their partner’s assets, investments outside of super, any career breaks and variable investment performance.

What’s interesting is that these ASFA benchmark target figures are much higher than both the average and median superannuation balances reported from June 2023. 

What can you do for your superannuation?

So if you are behind these benchmark figures, it doesn’t mean you are failing, but if you want to pick up the pace and drive the growth of your superannuation in your working years, there are a number of options:

If you’re thinking “I’ll worry about super closer to retirement”, you may be missing out on the power of compounding investment growth, meaning the small amounts invested for a longer period can make a bigger difference than a large investments for a shorter period.

1) Firstly, you can make personal contributions to super. There are a number of government incentives to save tax and receive Government co-contribution payments. Check what benefits you or your partner could be taking advantage of from making voluntary contributions. 

2) Take stock of what you have now, and check that you are  invested appropriately for investment growth and suited to your investment preferences. Superannuation for most is the long game, so make sure you consider your retirement timeframe. 

3) Check the ATO portal if you have unclaimed super or if you have multiple accounts. With 78% of Australian having only one super accounts, there can still be valid reasons for having multiple accounts but consider the costs of multiple sets of management and investment fees. 

4) Lastly, the earlier that you start, the bigger difference you make. It’s no surprise, that with any change you make now will make a longer term difference the further you are from retirement. 

Summary

With any strategies to boost your super, please seek personalised advice from a qualified financial planner, to consider the appropriateness of any super contributions, changes to your investment profiles or transferring any superannuation accounts.

While it’s not always helpful to compare your finances to others at similar age range and circumstances, I would encourage to take a look at your superannuation balance to see how your tracking against these benchmarks as a starting point. It may help you flag any changes you could be making to your superannuation at different life stages and aim for a comfortable retirement savings goal.

By: Shaun Jones MAppFin (FP) 
Financial Planner at About Retirement