Australia · Accumulation-phase estimate
Project your super balance at retirement using standard, disclosed assumptions you can adjust.
Projected balance at retirement
Shown in today's dollars, adjusted for assumed inflation of 3.7% p.a. (2.5% CPI + 1.2% living standards).
Assumptions used in this projection — these follow the same style of standard, disclosed assumptions ASIC's MoneySmart superannuation calculator uses, consistent with the spirit of ASIC Regulatory Guide 276: investment returns are net of tax and fees by risk profile (shown in the dropdown above); inflation is assumed at 2.5% p.a. (CPI) plus 1.2% p.a. for rising living standards where results are shown in today's dollars; default administration fees are $59/year plus 0.11% of your balance; default insurance is $599/year if the toggle above is checked. Every assumption on this page can be changed. This is a general estimate only, not personal financial advice, and it isn't intended to be relied on for a decision about a specific financial product. This calculator doesn't name or promote any super fund.
Starting from your current balance, this calculator compounds annually to your chosen retirement age: each year, your balance grows at the selected investment return, your annual contributions are added, and fees (plus insurance, if included) are deducted. It's a straightforward year-by-year model, not a Monte Carlo simulation or anything accounting for market volatility — real markets don't return a smooth average every single year, so treat the projected figure as a long-run central estimate, not a guaranteed outcome.
Any calculator that projects a future super balance sits inside ASIC's regulatory framework for superannuation forecasts (Regulatory Guide 276), which exists specifically because assumptions this far into the future can be presented misleadingly if the risk-return trade-off isn't made clear. This page shows every material assumption up front, next to the result, and lets you change the ones that matter most — your investment return profile, contribution level and retirement age — rather than burying them in a footnote.
A separate, harder question — "how long will this balance actually last me in retirement" — needs its own set of standard assumptions about retirement-phase investment returns, a drawdown rate, and life expectancy, layering on real additional complexity and regulatory considerations. This tool deliberately scopes to the balance projection question on its own, which is the one most people actually start with. For a full retirement-income plan, a financial adviser can model your specific drawdown scenario properly.
The return assumption you select should match the investment option you're actually invested in with your own super fund — check your latest statement or your fund's member portal, most funds show your current option clearly (Cash, Conservative, Balanced, Growth, or similar naming). Picking "High Growth" because it produces the biggest number, when you're actually invested in "Conservative," will give you a materially misleading projection either way.
Legislated changes to the Super Guarantee rate, contribution caps, or contribution tax settings between now and your retirement age; irregular contributions (this assumes a flat annual amount); a career break or reduced-hours period; and any deliberate extra contributions like the First Home Super Saver Scheme withdrawal, which would reduce your balance below this projection if you use it along the way.
Starting at age 35 with a $90,000 balance, $12,000 a year in total contributions, and the Balanced option (6.1% net return), projected to retire at 67 (32 years), the nominal balance compounds to a substantial sum before fees — but after $59 plus 0.11% of balance in admin fees and $599 a year in insurance are deducted annually, and the result is deflated to today's dollars at 3.7% p.a., the "in today's money" figure is meaningfully lower than the eye-catching nominal number. This gap between nominal and real (inflation-adjusted) figures is exactly why the toggle above exists — a projection quoted only in nominal dollars decades out can look far more impressive than it actually is in terms of real purchasing power.
Because this is a compounding calculation over potentially decades, small changes in the investment return assumption produce disproportionately large changes in the final projected balance — the gap between Conservative (4.9%) and High Growth (6.8%) compounded over 30 years is not a small difference, even though the annual gap looks modest. This is precisely why RG 276-style calculators are required to show their assumptions clearly: presenting only the most flattering return assumption, without disclosure, would materially mislead on how achievable a projected figure actually is.
See the Super Guarantee Calculator for your current compulsory contribution rate, and the Division 293 Calculator if your income and contributions are approaching $250,000, since Division 293 tax reduces the effective value of extra concessional contributions.