What is the super guarantee rate for 2026-27?

The super guarantee is 12% of ordinary time earnings and has been since 1 July 2025, after a series of scheduled increases that ended there. Your employer must pay it at least quarterly, and from the 2026-27 year most employers pay it on payday alongside wages. It stops once your earnings reach the maximum contribution base, $270,830 for 2026-27.

How much super should I have at my age?

There is no legislated benchmark, but a common rule of thumb is roughly your annual salary by 35, two to three times by 45, and five to six times by 60. These are averages built around a full working life with no breaks, so they penalise anyone who studied longer, took time out to care for family or worked part-time. The projection above is more useful than the benchmark because it uses your actual numbers.

Is salary sacrifice worth it?

Usually, if your marginal tax rate is above 15%. Sacrificed salary is taxed at 15% inside the fund instead of 30% or more in your hands, so the same gross dollar buys more retirement savings. The trade-offs are that the money is locked away until at least age 60, and that contributions above the $32,500 cap lose the concession entirely.

Why is 15% deducted from my contributions?

Concessional contributions, employer SG, salary sacrifice and personal deductible contributions, are made from pre-tax income, so the fund pays 15% contributions tax on them when they arrive. That is still well below most people's marginal rate, which is the tax advantage that makes super worth using at all. Non-concessional contributions, made from money you have already paid tax on, are not taxed again on entry.

What return rate should I use?

Use your own fund's long-term net return for the investment option you are actually in, which it publishes over rolling ten-year periods. A balanced option has historically delivered around 6-8% a year after fees over long periods; growth and high-growth options average more with deeper falls along the way. Using an optimistic figure does not improve your retirement, it only makes the projection wrong.

Can I access super before 60?

Only in narrow circumstances: severe financial hardship, compassionate grounds, terminal illness, permanent incapacity, or under the First Home Super Saver scheme for eligible voluntary contributions. Preservation age is 60 for everyone born after 30 June 1964, and a condition of release such as retiring or turning 65 is still required.

Superannuation Calculator

Australia· 2026-27

Projects your super balance at retirement from your current balance, salary and contributions, compounding the 12% super guarantee net of fees and the 15% contributions tax. On $85,000 with $50,000 already saved at 7%, a 30 year old is on track for roughly $1.4 million at 67.

Enter your values

Current age

Your age today. Projections run from here to your chosen retirement age.

Retirement age

Age Pension age is 67. Preservation age, when you can access super, is 60.

Current super balance

The total across all your funds. Find it in your fund's app or on your last member statement.

Annual salary (before tax)

Ordinary time earnings. Base salary excluding overtime. This is what SG is calculated on.

Extra contributions per year

Salary sacrifice or personal deductible contributions. Leave at 0 if you only receive employer SG.

Expected return after fees

A balanced option has historically returned around 6 to 8% a year after fees. Your fund publishes its own long-term figure.

Annual fees

Administration plus investment fees as a percentage of your balance. Check the fee section of your statement.

Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.

Results

Worked example. Edit the values and press Calculate

Projected balance at retirement

$1,576,042

Room left under the concessional cap
$22,300
You could salary sacrifice up to $22,300 more this year and still be taxed at 15% inside super.
Each extra $1,000 a year adds
$110,677
Paid every year until 67, after 15% contributions tax, at your net return.
In today's dollars (2.5% inflation)
$632,099
Years until retirement
37 years
Employer contribution this year
$10,200.00
Total concessional contributions
$10,200.00
Cap is $32,500 for 2026-27.
After 15% contributions tax
$8,670.00
Total contributions over the period
$320,790
Investment growth
$1,205,252

Projected balance at retirement: What your super could be worth on the day you retire, in future dollars. It assumes contributions continue at the same rate and returns average out. Neither of which happens smoothly in reality.
Room left under the concessional cap: How much more you could add this year through salary sacrifice or personal deductible contributions before reaching the concessional cap. Inside the cap these contributions are taxed at 15% instead of your marginal rate.
Each extra $1,000 a year adds: What an extra $1,000 of concessional contributions every year until retirement would add to your final balance, after 15% contributions tax and growing at your net return. Scale it up or down to test a salary sacrifice amount.
In today's dollars (2.5% inflation): The same balance expressed in what it would buy now. This is the more useful figure for deciding whether the projection supports the retirement you have in mind.
Years until retirement: The compounding period. It is the single most powerful input here. A decade more at the start outweighs almost any contribution increase later.
Employer contribution this year: Your employer's compulsory super guarantee payment. If it shows as capped, your salary exceeds the maximum contribution base and SG stops above that level.
Total concessional contributions: Employer plus salary sacrifice plus personal deductible contributions. Staying under the cap matters because the excess is taxed at your marginal rate instead of 15%.
After 15% contributions tax: What actually lands in your account each year. Contributions tax is charged inside the fund, which is why the amount invested is lower than the amount contributed.
Total contributions over the period: Everything paid in between now and retirement, after contributions tax. Compare it against growth to see how much of your final balance you funded yourself.
Investment growth: The part of your final balance that came from returns rather than contributions. Over a long working life this usually exceeds contributions, which is the whole argument for starting early.

Why use this calculator

Superannuation is the largest asset most Australians will ever own apart from a home, and it is built almost entirely by small decisions made decades before it matters. Whether you are on track is not obvious from a balance alone, because the number that counts is what that balance compounds into by the time you stop working.

This calculator turns your current position into a projection, then lets you test the levers that actually move it: extra contributions, fees, and the investment option you sit in. Seeing that a one per cent difference in fees costs six figures over thirty years is what turns a vague intention to 'look at my super sometime' into a specific change made this week.

How to use it

Enter your current age and the age you plan to retire.
60 is the earliest most people can access super, and 67 is when the Age Pension starts.
Take your current balance from your fund's app or your most recent member statement, and add up multiple accounts if you have them.
Your salary should be ordinary time earnings before tax, which is what the super guarantee is calculated on, excluding overtime.
Add any salary sacrifice or personal deductible contributions in the extra contributions field.
Both the expected return and the fee percentage are on your fund's product disclosure statement and its annual return history.
The fee figure is worth hunting down, because it compounds against you exactly as returns compound for you.

What each result means

Projected balance at retirement: What your super could be worth on the day you retire, in future dollars. It assumes contributions continue at the same rate and returns average out. Neither of which happens smoothly in reality.
Room left under the concessional cap: How much more you could add this year through salary sacrifice or personal deductible contributions before reaching the concessional cap. Inside the cap these contributions are taxed at 15% instead of your marginal rate.
Over the concessional cap by: How far your employer and extra contributions together exceed the concessional cap this year. The excess is added to your taxable income and taxed at your marginal rate, less a 15% offset.
Each extra $1,000 a year adds: What an extra $1,000 of concessional contributions every year until retirement would add to your final balance, after 15% contributions tax and growing at your net return. Scale it up or down to test a salary sacrifice amount.
In today's dollars (2.5% inflation): The same balance expressed in what it would buy now. This is the more useful figure for deciding whether the projection supports the retirement you have in mind.
Years until retirement: The compounding period. It is the single most powerful input here. A decade more at the start outweighs almost any contribution increase later.
Employer contribution this year: Your employer's compulsory super guarantee payment. If it shows as capped, your salary exceeds the maximum contribution base and SG stops above that level.
Total concessional contributions: Employer plus salary sacrifice plus personal deductible contributions. Staying under the cap matters because the excess is taxed at your marginal rate instead of 15%.
After 15% contributions tax: What actually lands in your account each year. Contributions tax is charged inside the fund, which is why the amount invested is lower than the amount contributed.
Total contributions over the period: Everything paid in between now and retirement, after contributions tax. Compare it against growth to see how much of your final balance you funded yourself.
Investment growth: The part of your final balance that came from returns rather than contributions. Over a long working life this usually exceeds contributions, which is the whole argument for starting early.

The formula

Each year the balance grows by the net return and then receives contributions:

Balance = Balance × (1 + return − fees) + contributions × (1 − 0.15)

Employer contributions are salary × 12% (the super guarantee rate since 1 July 2025), capped at the maximum contribution base of $270,830 for 2026-27. The 0.15 factor is the contributions tax charged inside the fund on concessional contributions. The concessional cap for 2026-27 is $32,500, and Division 293 adds a further 15% for people whose income plus contributions exceeds $250,000.

How this number is used in practice

The practical use of this projection is not the headline number, it is the gap between two runs of it. Run it once as you are, then run it with an extra $100 a fortnight of salary sacrifice, or with fees dropped from 1.2% to 0.6% by moving to a low-cost option.

The difference between those two numbers is the real decision, and it is usually large enough to justify an hour of paperwork.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia publishes a widely used benchmark for what a comfortable retirement costs, which is a reasonable target to compare your projection against. If you own your home outright and will qualify for at least a part Age Pension, you need substantially less in super than someone who will be renting. Housing status changes the target more than almost anything else.

Two structural traps show up repeatedly. Multiple accounts from old jobs each charge their own administration fee and often duplicate insurance premiums, quietly draining balances for years. And default insurance inside super is worth having when you have dependants and expensive when you do not. It comes out of the same balance this calculator projects.

Worked examples

30 year old, $85,000 salary, $50,000 balance, 7% return, 0.9% fees
Projected balance around $1.44 million at 67, or roughly $584,000 in today's dollars, with about $455,000 contributed and the rest investment growth.
Same person adding $6,000 a year of salary sacrifice
Projected balance rises to roughly $2.04 million. The extra $222,000 of contributions adds around $600,000 by retirement because of compounding.
45 year old, $120,000 salary, $250,000 balance, 7% return, 0.9% fees
Projected balance around $1.14 million at 67. Later start, higher salary, and a much larger share of the balance coming from contributions rather than growth.

When people use it

Checking whether your current trajectory supports the retirement you want
Costing a salary sacrifice decision before asking payroll to set it up
Comparing what switching to a lower-fee fund is worth over your remaining working life
Working out how much a career break or moving to part-time work will cost in retirement
Deciding whether to make a personal deductible contribution before 30 June

Tips

The super guarantee reached 12% on 1 July 2025 and is not legislated to rise further, so future increases in your balance have to come from returns, fees or your own contributions.
The 2026-27 concessional cap is $32,500 including employer SG. On an $85,000 salary that leaves roughly $22,300 of room for salary sacrifice.
Unused concessional cap from the previous five years can be carried forward if your total super balance was under $500,000 on 30 June. Useful in a year with a capital gain or a bonus.
A one percentage point difference in fees on a $200,000 balance costs about $2,000 in the first year alone, and far more once it compounds. Check the fee line on your statement, not the marketing.
Consolidating old accounts stops duplicate administration fees and insurance premiums, but check the insurance you would lose before closing an account, especially if your health has changed.
Division 293 charges an extra 15% on concessional contributions once income plus contributions exceeds $250,000. Salary sacrifice is still tax-effective above that, just less so.

What it assumes, and where it stops being accurate

Returns are applied as a constant annual rate. Real markets deliver the same average through a sequence of good and bad years, and the order matters near retirement.
Your salary is assumed to stay flat in today's terms. Pay rises will increase both contributions and the final balance.
Insurance premiums deducted from your balance are not modelled, and they can run to several hundred dollars a year.
Contributions tax is applied at the flat 15% rate. Division 293 for high earners and the low income super tax offset for low earners are flagged but not deducted.
The projection ignores any government co-contribution, spouse contribution or First Home Super Saver withdrawals.
It does not model the transition to a pension account, where earnings become tax-free, nor any Age Pension entitlement.

Terms used on this page

Super guarantee (SG): The compulsory employer contribution, currently 12% of ordinary time earnings.
Concessional contribution: A contribution made from pre-tax income, employer SG, salary sacrifice or a personal deductible contribution, taxed at 15% inside the fund.
Preservation age: The age from which you can access super, now 60 for everyone, provided you also meet a condition of release.
Maximum contribution base: The quarterly earnings ceiling above which an employer need not pay SG. $270,830 a year for 2026-27.
Division 293 tax: An extra 15% on concessional contributions for people whose combined income and contributions exceed $250,000.

Questions people ask

What is the super guarantee rate for 2026-27?: The super guarantee is 12% of ordinary time earnings and has been since 1 July 2025, after a series of scheduled increases that ended there. Your employer must pay it at least quarterly, and from the 2026-27 year most employers pay it on payday alongside wages. It stops once your earnings reach the maximum contribution base, $270,830 for 2026-27.
How much super should I have at my age?: There is no legislated benchmark, but a common rule of thumb is roughly your annual salary by 35, two to three times by 45, and five to six times by 60. These are averages built around a full working life with no breaks, so they penalise anyone who studied longer, took time out to care for family or worked part-time. The projection above is more useful than the benchmark because it uses your actual numbers.
Is salary sacrifice worth it?: Usually, if your marginal tax rate is above 15%. Sacrificed salary is taxed at 15% inside the fund instead of 30% or more in your hands, so the same gross dollar buys more retirement savings. The trade-offs are that the money is locked away until at least age 60, and that contributions above the $32,500 cap lose the concession entirely.
Why is 15% deducted from my contributions?: Concessional contributions, employer SG, salary sacrifice and personal deductible contributions, are made from pre-tax income, so the fund pays 15% contributions tax on them when they arrive. That is still well below most people's marginal rate, which is the tax advantage that makes super worth using at all. Non-concessional contributions, made from money you have already paid tax on, are not taxed again on entry.
What return rate should I use?: Use your own fund's long-term net return for the investment option you are actually in, which it publishes over rolling ten-year periods. A balanced option has historically delivered around 6-8% a year after fees over long periods; growth and high-growth options average more with deeper falls along the way. Using an optimistic figure does not improve your retirement, it only makes the projection wrong.
Can I access super before 60?: Only in narrow circumstances: severe financial hardship, compassionate grounds, terminal illness, permanent incapacity, or under the First Home Super Saver scheme for eligible voluntary contributions. Preservation age is 60 for everyone born after 30 June 1964, and a condition of release such as retiring or turning 65 is still required.

Use this with

Superannuation Calculator answers one part of the question. These pick up where it stops: Salary After Tax Calculator, Salary Sacrifice Calculator, Australian Income Tax Calculator and Retirement Savings Calculator.

Where these figures come from

Australia· 2026-27Last reviewed 2026-09·How we build and check calculators

Figures and rules on this page follow Australian law and ATO guidance.

ATO: Tax rates for Australian residents. Income tax brackets for 2026-27
ATO: Study and training loan repayment thresholds and rates. HELP repayment thresholds and the marginal repayment system
ATO: Medicare levy surcharge income thresholds and rates. Surcharge tiers for singles and families
ATO: Super guarantee and contribution caps. SG rate 12% and the maximum contribution base

Superannuation Calculator produces an estimate for general information. It is not financial, tax, medical, legal or engineering advice. read the full disclaimer. Spotted a wrong number? Report it and it gets fixed. The form picks up this calculator and the inputs you used.