How much super you should have at your age

One way to work out if your superannuation savings are on track is to look at how much other people your age have saved.

Knowing whether you have more money than your peers could give you peace of mind. Alternatively if you are way behind your age group, it could spur you on to catch up.

It is up to superannuation fund members to monitor their savings regularly and have a retirement plan that can fund a retirement stretching 30 to 40 years. It is a huge challenge.

How much super will you need at retirement?

You can't afford to just wing it and hope your 11% superannuation contributions over time will procure you a good retirement.

You may need to top up with additional contributions or other strategies.

Luckily there are plenty of tools to help design your retirement needs and tell you whether you will have enough money.

Here's a table of the average superannuation balance for your age from AustralianSuper that is prepared by Deloitte.

What if you withdrew from super during COVID?

It is worth pointing out that these amounts reflect the $38 billion withdrawn by 2.6 million Australians from superannuation funds during the pandemic in 2020.

It is estimated that up to one million Australians wiped out their entire super savings.

Industry Super Australia estimates a 30-year-old who took out $20,000 would be $80,000 worse off at retirement. If fund members were on track before their withdrawal, they could be behind.

What is the superannuation gap for women?

The different age groups show that women start off with the same amount of superannuation as men but over time their superannuation lags because they typically are in lower paid jobs and take time out of the workforce for caring roles.

The gap between men and women slips as they age. At 35, women have 31% or $40,800 less than men. By the time they retire, women typically have $77,700 less or 23% less than men.

But just because you are tracking the average balance for your age and gender group, it doesn't mean you shouldn't aim for bigger amounts of superannuation. The more money the better off you will be in retirement.

The medium age balances are short of the lump sum for a comfortable retirement that is set down by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia. It found a single person needs $595,000 at retirement and a couple needs $690,000 for a comfortable retirement.

ASFA has a superannuation calculator called Super Guru found at superguru.com.au that allows you to calculate the kind of retirement you can afford. Another good calculator is at moneysmart.gov.au.

Your retirement is a complex calculation that takes into account what you have now, what will be contributed on your behalf in the future, and what return will be earned on your superannuation investments after fees and taxes.

It is worth plugging in the numbers regularly to see if you are on track and considering ways to boost your super such as voluntary contributions or changing investment options.

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