How much super should you have at your age?

There is a published benchmark for how much super you would have at each age to be "on track", and it is worth knowing. It is also worth holding loosely, because for most age groups the average Australian balance sits below it, and women's balances sit lower again.

"How much super should I have for my age" is one of the most-searched money questions in Australia, and people rarely search it out of idle curiosity. It usually comes with a quiet fear that everyone else got a memo you missed. So here are the actual figures, followed by what they do and do not mean.

The benchmark: what you would "need"

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) publishes a widely used Retirement Standard. It estimates that to fund a comfortable retirement from age 67, a single person needs a lump sum of around $630,000, and a couple around $730,000 (assuming they own their home and draw a part Age Pension).

Working back from that, the Super Guru "Super Balance Detective" gives a rough figure for what you would have at each age to stay on track for a comfortable retirement at 67:

• Age 25: around $27,500
• Age 30: around $70,500
• Age 35: around $118,000
• Age 40: around $178,000
• Age 45: around $239,000
• Age 50: around $313,500
• Age 55: around $399,000
• Age 60: around $496,500
• Age 65: around $604,500

Find the figure for your age and keep it in mind, because the next set of numbers matters just as much.

The reality: what people have

Here is what Australians have, on average, by age (ASFA):

• 25 to 29: around $27,000
• 30 to 34: around $52,700
• 35 to 39: around $85,100
• 40 to 44: around $118,700
• 45 to 49: around $151,900
• 50 to 54: around $190,500
• 55 to 59: around $234,700
• 60 to 64: around $263,400

Put the two lists side by side and something jumps out: for most age groups, the average balance sits below the "on track" benchmark. Being behind is the normal Australian experience. If your balance is under the benchmark, you are in the same position as most of the country.

And then there is the gender gap

The averages above blend men and women together. Split them apart and it gets sharper. Women aged 60 to 64 have a median super balance of $174,700. Men the same age have $236,100. That is $61,400 less, a gap of 26% (Super Members Council), and it widens across a working life, peaking in your 50s.

So a woman comparing herself to the benchmark is often measuring herself against a figure built on an unbroken, full-time, well-paid career, the exact working life the system assumed and most women do not get to have. Career breaks for caregiving, part-time years, and lower average pay all pull women's actual balances below the tidy benchmark. The shortfall is structural rather than personal, and we wrote about why in our piece on the gender super gap.

What the number is for

Used well, a benchmark gives you a rough sense of where you stand and how far there is to go. Used badly, it becomes one more stick to hit yourself with, and shame has never improved anyone's super balance.

Three things worth knowing about these figures:

1. They rest on assumptions that may not be yours. Retiring at 67, owning your home, a "comfortable" (not lavish, not bare) lifestyle, and a set investment return. Change any of those and your number changes.
2. "Behind" is normal and not fixed. Because of compounding, balances can move more than you would expect in the years before retirement, and small changes made earlier have outsized effects. Where you sit today does not decide where you finish.
3. Knowing your number beats guessing. Most people have no idea what their current balance is. Finding out is free, takes minutes, and turns a vague dread into a fact you can work with.

The short version

• For a comfortable retirement at 67, ASFA estimates a lump sum of around $630,000 (single) or $730,000 (couple), assuming you own your home.
• The Super Guru benchmarks: roughly $70,500 by 30, $118,000 by 35, $178,000 by 40, $239,000 by 45, $313,500 by 50.
• Most Australians sit below the benchmark for their age. Being "behind" is the norm, not a personal failure.
• Women's balances run lower again: at ages 60 to 64 the median gap is $61,400, or 26% (Super Members Council).
• The benchmarks rest on set assumptions and are a rough guide only. The most useful first step is finding out your current balance.

The benchmark was drawn for a career that never stopped, never went part-time, and never got paid less for being done by a woman. If yours did any of those, the gap between you and the number says more about the system you earned inside than about your discipline. Whether you do anything about it depends on your circumstances, and that is a conversation for a licensed adviser who knows your full picture.