Better than you thought?
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) quietly released some statistics end June. I say quietly because this data is really interesting. And useful for individual retirees keen to understand their overall financial standing.
The data is somewhat ponderously called the Individuals statistics for Taxation statistics 2022–23 and is buried in amongst a lot of other statistics on tax paid in Financial Year 2022-23. Reproduced below are the two pieces of information that matter most: a table of median super balances by age and gender and the same information represented in a chart.
I have chosen to highlight the median balances (as opposed to the average) because median amounts offer a much more useful benchmark than averages. That’s because the average super balances can’t help but be skewed higher by the 135+ people holding more than 10 million in their super account. One individual has a balance of 534 million! So using averages is just not useful. As a refresher on high school maths, a median amount represents the middle value in a set of numbers, with half (in this case, super accounts) being lower, and half being higher. So it’s the midway point and that’s what makes it such a useful yardstick.
Here are the most recent individual balances, published in late June 2025 by the ATO.
Taxation Statistics 2022-23: Median super balance, by age and sex, 2022-23 financial year
*In above Chart 12, statistics include individuals with an account balance or current year contributions greater than zero ATO, Table 5
Why should you care?
This simple table allows you to compare your own individual balance to those of most other Australians. So if you are heading towards Preservation Age (generally 60) then you can see that those in a similar age range (55-59) are holding a median amount of $202,583 in their super if they are male, and $140,662 if female. If combined, this amounts to a couples’ joint super savings of $343,245.
Should you be aged between 70 and 74, the male median balance is $214,749 and the female balance is $215,202. (Yes, it’s surprising that a female median balance is higher – but this only happens in this one age range). If you are aged 70-74, you will know you can apply for an Age Pension (as you are over 67). Should your own super balance be similar to the median, it’s well below the asset test limit for singles and couples (whether homeowners or not). If you have other assets, or still receive income, then that will need to be included in any assessment as well.
What does this mean?
The critical point here is that the age range with highest combined balances (age 70-74) if assessed by Centrelink on super alone, are still likely to get a full or part Age Pension. Yet these super balances are a LONG way short of the so-called ‘comfortable’ savings target in the ASFA Retirement Standard – that of $690,000 for couples and $595,000 for singles. As you can see from the ATO median amounts, the decade of ‘situation normal’ Australians between ages 65-74 are sitting in the middle range on about $200,000 – $218,000. Unless they have other assets of very high value, their super nest eggs equal about one third of the amount suggested by ASFA for singles and less than two-thirds for couples, combined.
So if you are rating your own retirement savings based upon the above suggestions for a ‘comfortable’ lifestyle, you may be disappointed in your perceived performance to date – even though you shouldn’t be. The so-called ‘modest’ savings target is $100,000 and this assumes you will have income of around $52,583 for couples or $33,386 for singles – about $3000 (singles) – $6000 (couples) above a full Age Pension entitlements.
It’s not what you have…
…but how you manage it
The main takeout from the recently released data is that individual Australian super balances are actually much lower than most of the media hype about retirement targets leads us to believe. If you take the time to compare your own savings to the median amount for your age and gender, you may be surprised to see you are not that far off. Or maybe you’re even further ahead! But whatever your super balance is, that’s not going to totally define your retirement income trajectory. As we’ve reported over the time, there are many, many different ways to maximise the savings you have achieved. These include:
- Timing your switch from savings to withdrawal to maximise tax benefits
- Using couple status to ensure you align your assets and retirement decisions appropriately
- Maximising Age Pension benefits
- Using special contribution rules to add to super in order to increase the amount held in a tax-free environment.
- Ensuring you use Age Pension work rules to your greatest advantage
- Keeping gifting within the limits
And there are many more other ways to make the most of what you have. In summary, understanding the difference between average and median savings is helpful so that you don’t have unrealistically high expectations of your own savings performance. And seeking support to ensure you do maximise your own potential retirement income makes a lot of sense.
What’s your opinion?
Were you aware of these ATO balances which are published annually? Do they provide a useful guideline for your own situation?
Making the most of super is a very frequent trigger for booking a 55-minute guided Retirement Advice Consultation. Priced at $395, it’s an invaluable opportunity to ask questions, explore options and test your decisions.
