Super is likely your largest asset after your home — and the rules around it are some of the most powerful in the tax system. This guide walks through the full advice framework: contributions, taxation, accessing your money, turning it into income, and how the Age Pension fits in. Then you can model your own numbers.
These are the same areas a professional adviser works through when advising on superannuation and retirement — explained here in plain English.
Follow the path from building your super through to passing it on. Tap any block to explore it and see how it connects.
Super is a compulsory, tax-advantaged retirement savings system governed by the SIS Act and overseen by APRA, ASIC and the ATO. Your employer must pay the Superannuation Guarantee (12% of ordinary time earnings from 1 July 2025) into your fund.
Concessional (before-tax): SG, salary sacrifice and personal deductible contributions — capped at $32,500/yr, taxed at 15% in the fund. Non-concessional (after-tax): capped at $130,000/yr (or $390,000 under the bring-forward rule). Figures current from 1 July 2026.
Salary sacrifice, carry-forward of unused concessional cap (balance under $500k), the government co-contribution, spouse contributions, and the downsizer contribution ($300k from a home sale, age 55+) are all levers to build super tax-effectively.
Three taxing points: contributions (15%, or 30% above $250k income via Division 293), fund earnings (15% in accumulation, 0% in pension phase), and benefits. Your balance splits into a tax-free and a taxable component, which matters most on death.
Super is preserved until you meet a condition of release — usually reaching preservation age (60) and retiring, turning 65, or starting a transition-to-retirement income stream. Early access is tightly limited (hardship, incapacity, terminal illness).
Account-based pensions, transition-to-retirement (TTR) pensions and annuities convert your balance into income. From age 60 the income and the earnings supporting it are tax-free, subject to annual minimum drawdown rates that rise with age.
There's a lifetime limit on how much you can move into the tax-free pension phase — the transfer balance cap, currently $2.1 million (from 1 July 2026). Amounts above it must stay in accumulation (taxed at 15%) or outside super.
Retirement here rests on three pillars — the Age Pension as a means-tested safety net, compulsory super stacked on top, and voluntary savings above that. Super was built to sit on the pension, not replace it. It's means-tested under an assets test and an income test (using deeming), and whichever produces the lower payment applies — so drawing down super can actually increase your entitlement over time.
Super doesn't automatically pass through your will. A binding death benefit nomination (BDBN) directs it. Paid to a tax dependant (e.g. spouse) it's tax-free; to a non-dependant adult child the taxable component is taxed. See our Estate Planning guide.
Three calculators that bring the framework to life. Drag the sliders — everything updates instantly. All figures are estimates for general guidance only, using indicative 2025–26 rates.
Applies both means tests and uses the lower result, with financial assets deemed, from age 67. It treats your super as your only assessable asset — real entitlements count savings, investments and contents too, so this will usually read high. Indicative only.
Your marginal tax rate on this income is about — (incl. Medicare). Concessional contributions are taxed at just 15% inside super.
These calculators are simplified models for general education. They make assumptions and exclude many factors relevant to you (insurance premiums, Division 293, full Age Pension income test, partner balances, tax components and more). Before acting, model your specific situation with a licensed financial adviser.
Relying on the 12% Superannuation Guarantee alone may not deliver the retirement you want. These are the main ways to add more — each with its own cap and tax treatment.
From 1 July 2026, Payday Super means your employer now pays SG every payday instead of quarterly — the 12% rate itself is unchanged. The same date also brings higher contribution caps.
Super's tax concessions are the whole reason it works. Understanding the three taxing points helps you use it well. From 1 July 2026, large balances also face Division 296 — an extra 15% tax on earnings for total super balances over $3 million.
Super is "preserved" until you satisfy a condition of release. Knowing these rules is central to any retirement plan.
In retirement you convert your balance into an income stream. The main option is an account-based pension; annuities and TTR pensions also play a role.
Australia's retirement system rests on three pillars: the Age Pension as a means-tested safety net, compulsory super stacked on top of it, and voluntary savings above that. Super was designed to sit on the pension rather than replace it — which is why most retirees end up drawing on both, and why the pension belongs in your plan from the start, not as an afterthought once super runs low.
Most retirees receive at least a part Age Pension. It's means-tested two ways, and the test that produces the lower payment applies.
Super is not an estate asset by default — the fund trustee decides who receives it unless you've made a valid binding nomination. Tax depends on who receives it.
The questions Australians ask most about superannuation and retirement — answered in plain English.
The calculators above are a starting point. For advice specific to your balance, income, tax components and retirement goals, speak with a licensed financial adviser.
The calculators give you a feel for the levers. A licensed financial adviser can model your real balance, tax components, partner's position and Age Pension entitlement — and build a strategy around them.
The information on this website is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is not financial, legal, or taxation advice, and nothing on this site is intended to be relied upon as advice or to create any legally binding obligation or relationship.
While we try to keep the content accurate and current, it may be out of date, incomplete, or incorrect. Rules, rates, contribution caps, and thresholds change frequently — always verify the current figures with the ATO, ASIC's MoneySmart website, or a licensed professional.
All calculators, projections, and figures shown are for illustration and demonstration purposes only. They rely on simplified assumptions, are not predictions, quotes, or guarantees, and your actual outcome will differ.
Before acting on anything you read here, we strongly recommend you seek professional advice from a licensed financial adviser, accountant, or solicitor who can consider your individual circumstances. AdviceGenie does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) and does not provide financial product advice as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
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