How much super is enough?
When it comes to super, one-size-fits-all does not apply.
But if you’re looking at getting your super sorted, knowing how your savings stack up can help with the next steps.
What’s my super goal?
The magic number to save for your retirement isn’t a simple sum. That’s because we’re all so different. Super won’t necessarily be the only money you’ll be spending in retirement. And the way you live and your living costs won’t be the same as everybody else either.
What does a healthy super balance look like at retirement?
Having said that, there are lots of resources available to help you get a rough idea of what your super savings goal should be. One estimate says a couple will need a super balance of $640,000 at retirement to give them $63,352 every year to live on . You can take a look at more figures like these to help you run the numbers for your future in retirement.
Is my super on track now?
Knowing if you’ll have enough super when you retire starts with checking your account balance now. Perhaps you have more than one fund and you’ll need to track down all your super accounts to find out how much you have.
Once you know how much your super savings is currently, you can use a Retirement Tracker calculator like this one, to find out what your balance is likely to be by the time you retire.
It’s important to keep in mind that the total super savings needed to live comfortably in retirement depends on what you’re planning to do as well as the lifestyle that you’ve been used to during your working life. Our run the numbers information below can help give you an idea of how much you’ll need saved by the time you retire.
How can I catch up?
If you’d like to see your super growing faster towards the balance you think you’ll need in retirement, there are a couple of ways to do this:
Your Super Guarantee payments from your employer are a percentage of your salary. When your salary goes up, your Super Guarantee payments will automatically go up and will help you save more super.
You don’t have to rely on your employer to save more. You can pay yourself super by making personal contributions. Learn how to Grow your balance
Saving a little extra in your super now can make a big difference to your balance in 30, 20 or even 10 years’ time.
Source: IOOF