Blog
by Beam
|13/02/2025
Knowing what your super balance should be for your age can help you get ready for life after work.
The superannuation information in this article has been written by Australian Retirement Trust. Beam is part of Australian Retirement Trust group (ART). Together we’re working with your payroll provider to bring Australians closer to their super for a better retirement outcome.
As an employer, you probably spend a lot of time prioritising the health and wellbeing of your employees – but don’t forget your own retirement future.
If you’re keen to enjoy a ‘comfortable’ retirement, checking the average super balances for Australians at different ages may be one way to compare how much super you should have and how confident you can be about your readiness for retirement.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has created a Retirement Standard to help give you a clearer understanding of what retirement lifestyle your savings may give you.
It’s updated quarterly to reflect inflation and provides detailed budgets of what singles and couples, who own their home, would need to spend to support their chosen lifestyle and factors in things such as private health insurance, new clothes, a decent car, local holidays, social outings, exercise classes, and home repairs.
ASFA’s September quarter 2024 figures suggest that single people will need $51,814 in retirement savings per year for a ‘comfortable retirement’, and couples will need about $73,031 per year.1
To achieve a comfortable retirement, ASFA calculates the amount of savings required by retirement at age 67 are around $595,000 for a single person and $690,000 for a couple.
Learn more about how much you’ll need in retirement.
| Age (years) | Super balance |
| 25 | $18,500 |
| 30 | $59,000 |
| 35 | $101,500 |
| 40 | $156,000 |
| 45 | $213,000 |
| 50 | $281,000 |
| 55 | $361,000 |
| 60 | $453,000 |
| 65 | $549,000 |
Source: Super Guru’s Super Balance Detective, accessed August 2024.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has worked out the average super balances for each age group. Remember that many people’s super balances are falling behind what they should be. See how you compare.
Average super balance by age
| Age | Average balance (men) | Average balance (women) |
| 15-24 | $6,500 | $5,100 |
| 25-34 | $42,100 | $34,500 |
| 35-44 | $107,700 | $76,900 |
| 45-54 | $219,300 | $136,000 |
| 55-64 | $326,200 | $246,300 |
| 65-74 | $435,900 | $381,700 |
| 75 and over | $370,900 | $314,100 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Household Income and Wealth, Australia 2019–20. Accessed 1 March 2024.
Even with the pressures of running a business, there’s still things you can do to set yourself up for a comfortable retirement. Read more about retiring as a small business owner.
Learn moreImportant information
This is general information. It’s not based on the specific objectives, financial situation or needs of your business. So think about those things and read the Product Disclosure Statement before you make any decision about our products. Contact us or your payroll provider for a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
Beam is issued by Precision Administration Services Pty Ltd (Precision) (ABN 47 098 977 667, AFSL 246 604). Precision is wholly owned by Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd (ABN 88 010 720 840, AFSL 228 975), trustee of Australian Retirement Trust (ABN 60 905 115 063).
Before making a decision on a superannuation fund make sure you read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination.