# Super calculator: retirement balance projection

Source: https://calculatax.com/super/super-calculator/
Title: Super Calculator Australia: Project Your Retirement Balance
Last updated: 2026-11-07

This super calculator projects your balance at retirement and converts it to today's dollars. It applies the 12% super guarantee for 2026-27 from the [ATO super guarantee page](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/key-superannuation-rates-and-thresholds/super-guarantee). On our starting assumptions, a 35-year-old with $60,000 on a $90,000 salary reaches about **$736,213 at today's prices** by 67.

| Default example: age 35, $60,000 balance, $90,000 salary | Result at 67 |
|---|---|
| Projected balance, future dollars | $1,622,434 |
| Projected balance, today's dollars | $736,213 |
| With an extra $50 a week, future dollars | $1,829,136 |
| With an extra $50 a week, today's dollars | $830,008 |

*Projection with 12% SG (2026-27 rate) and 15% contributions tax. The 7% return, 0.85% fees, 3% wage growth and 2.5% inflation are assumptions you can change. Source: ATO for the SG rate.*

> **The return, fees, wage growth and inflation are assumptions, not facts.** They're starting points we picked so the calculator shows a result. No one knows what your fund will earn, so change them to suit your fund and test a few.

This calculator is a projection tool for [superannuation](https://calculatax.com/super/) savings. It shows how the inputs work together, and it can't predict returns.

**Year one of the default example**

| Step | Working | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Balance at the start |  | $60,000 |
| Return | 7% of $60,000 (assumption) | +$4,200 |
| Fees | 0.85% of $60,000 (assumption) | -$510 |
| Employer super | $10,800 less 15% contributions tax | +$9,180 |
| **Balance after one year** |  | **$72,870** |

*Then the same steps repeat each year to 67, with pay rising by the 3% wage growth assumption.*

### How the projection works

- Contributions are 12% SG on salary, taxed at 15%, added at the end of each year.
- The return is treated as after tax on fund earnings. Fees come out as a percentage of the balance each year.
- Salary rises each year, so SG rises with it. At 66 the salary is $225,007 and SG is $27,001, still under today's $32,500 concessional cap.
- There are no insurance premiums, career breaks or withdrawals.

## The assumptions that move your balance most

Over three decades, a one-point change in the return moves the result by hundreds of thousands of dollars. That's why it's worth testing a lower and a higher figure.

| Return assumption each year (before 0.85% fees) | Balance at 67, future dollars | Balance at 67, today's dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 6% | $1,329,374 | $603,231 |
| 7% | $1,622,434 | $736,213 |
| 8% | $1,993,520 | $904,600 |

*Same example: age 35, $60,000 balance, $90,000 salary, 12% SG. The returns are assumptions, and the results are projections, not forecasts.*

- **6.15%**: What's left each year from a 7% return after 0.85% fees (Both are assumptions)
- **$223,911**: What working from 65 to 67 adds in future dollars ($69,477 at today's prices)

### Wage growth, retirement age and access to your super

Wage growth matters because SG is a percentage of pay. Retirement age matters because the last few years add the largest dollar amounts of growth.

You generally can't reach your super before preservation age, which is 60 for anyone born from 1 July 1964. The [ATO's guide to when you can withdraw your super](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/withdrawing-and-using-your-super/super-withdrawal-options) has the conditions. Age Pension age is 67.

Returns won't be smooth in practice. A run of poor years near retirement hurts more than the same run at 35, because the balance is larger. The [retirement income calculator](https://calculatax.com/super/retirement-income-calculator/) tests how long a balance lasts once you start drawing on it.

## Adding $50 a week from age 30, 40 or 50

An extra $50 a week before tax adds $2,600 a year to super, or $2,210 after 15% contributions tax. The earlier it starts, the more of the final amount comes from returns.

| Start age | Years to 67 | Total paid in | Value at 67, future dollars | Value at 67, today's dollars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 37 | $96,200 | $291,072 | $116,739 |
| 40 | 27 | $70,200 | $144,100 | $73,981 |
| 50 | 17 | $44,200 | $63,184 | $41,524 |

*$50 a week before tax, fixed in dollar terms, taxed at 15%. Assumes a 7% return less 0.85% fees, and 2.5% inflation. Projections only.*

Started at 30, the extra money grows to about three times what went in. Started at 50, it grows by less than half.

In the default example, $50 a week from 35 adds $206,702 in future dollars, or $93,795 at today's prices, from $83,200 paid in. The extra plus SG starts at $13,400 a year, well under the $32,500 concessional cap.

Before-tax contributions usually go in as [salary sacrifice super](https://calculatax.com/super/salary-sacrifice-super-calculator/), which also cuts your income tax.

## Today's dollars vs future dollars

A future-dollar balance looks large because prices rise in the meantime. Today's dollars take inflation out, so you can compare the result with what money buys now.

| $50 a week from age 30, at 67 | Future dollars | Today's dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Value | $291,072 | $116,739 |
| What it tells you | The number on your statement then | Roughly what it buys now |

*37 years at the 2.5% inflation assumption. Prices are 2.4933 times higher by then.*

Use the today's-dollar figure when you're judging whether a balance will support your spending. Compare it with the [super balance by age](https://calculatax.com/super/super-balance-by-age/) figures to see where you sit now.

### Why wage growth above inflation helps

Wage growth above inflation (3% against 2.5% in our assumptions) is why real contributions rise over a career. If wages only kept pace with prices, the today's-dollar result would be lower.

Over the default example's 32 years, 2.5% inflation makes prices 2.2038 times higher.

## Fees of 1% vs 0.5% over 30 years

A half-point difference in fees grows into a large dollar gap. Over 30 years, the default example ends with $135,704 more at 0.5% fees than at 1%, or $64,696 at today's prices.

| Fees assumption as % of balance | Balance at 65 (30 years), future dollars | Today's dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0% | $1,359,375 | $648,072 |
| 0.85% | $1,398,523 | $666,736 |
| 0.5% | $1,495,079 | $712,768 |

*Default example from age 35 to 65. 12% SG, 15% contributions tax, with assumptions of a 7% return, 3% wage growth and 2.5% inflation. Projections only.*

If your fund also charges a flat dollar fee, it isn't in the percentage figure. Check your statement and allow for it.

## Limits of this projection

The result is an estimate built on fixed assumptions. Real returns, pay and contribution rules will differ.

The projection doesn't model:

- Insurance premiums deducted from your balance.
- Tax on fund earnings as a separate item, because it sits inside the return you enter.
- Years out of the workforce or part-time work.
- [Division 293 tax](https://calculatax.com/super/division-293-tax-calculator/) when income and concessional contributions pass $250,000.
- Tax on contributions over the [concessional cap](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/key-superannuation-rates-and-thresholds/contributions-caps), though the result flags it in year one.
- Future changes to the 12% SG rate or contribution caps.
- The Age Pension, which depends on income and assets tests.

> **Career breaks cost more than the missing contributions.** Those dollars also miss decades of returns. With no SG from 35 to 39, the default example ends $275,145 lower in future dollars, or $124,853 at today's prices.

The [super guarantee calculator](https://calculatax.com/super/super-guarantee-calculator/) works out the SG on each pay. The [current super rate](https://calculatax.com/super/super-guarantee-rate/) has the rate history.

## Super calculation questions: gross pay, Excel and extra contributions

### How is super calculated?

In two steps. Your employer pays 12% of qualifying earnings, and your fund deducts 15% contributions tax. The balance then grows by returns less fees, which are assumptions you can change in this projection.

### Is super calculated on gross or net pay?

It's worked out on gross pay, before income tax is withheld, and applies to qualifying earnings, which generally exclude overtime. A $90,000 salary gives $10,800 of SG whatever your tax. Amounts you salary sacrifice still count, so sacrificing doesn't cut your employer's 12%.

### How do I calculate superannuation in Excel?

Use the FV function with your net return, years, yearly contribution after tax and current balance. For the default example, =FV(6.15%, 32, -9180, -60000) returns about $1,263,736. That holds salary flat, while the calculator adds 3% wage growth each year, which is why its result is higher.

### How much extra should I contribute to super?

That depends on your budget, other debts and when you need the money. For scale, $2,600 a year before tax from age 30 to 67 is worth $291,072 on our assumptions. Concessional contributions, including SG, are capped at $32,500 for 2026-27.

*Estimates only, based on published rates for 2026-27. The return, fees, wage growth and inflation are assumptions. General information, not tax or financial advice.*

## Sources

- [ATO: Super guarantee](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/key-superannuation-rates-and-thresholds/super-guarantee)
- [ATO: Contributions caps](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/key-superannuation-rates-and-thresholds/contributions-caps)
- [ATO: When you can withdraw your super](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/withdrawing-and-using-your-super/super-withdrawal-options)
- [Services Australia: Who can get Age Pension](https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/who-can-get-age-pension?context=22526)