more super for millions of Australians

Almost 10 million Australians will retire with a bigger nest egg, thanks to a recent super guarantee (SG) increase.

Compulsory super was introduced in 1992, and 90% of Australians aged between 30 and 50 now have a super account¹.

On 1 July, the minimum SG employer contribution rose from 11.5% to 12%, growing incrementally over the past decade from 9%.

With the power of compounding over a lifetime, this boost will give HESTA members more choice in retirement. For some, this could help achieve an earlier retirement. For others, the increase could be put towards holidays, renovations or hobbies to support a fulfilling life after work.

The increase has put a ‘comfortable’ retirement within reach of even more Australians, including HESTA members, who could expect to afford top-level health insurance, a reasonable car, regular trips, and home repairs and renovations once they stop working².

Modelling prepared by HESTA and partner Laneway Analytics shows women representative of the average HESTA member starting their careers in 2025 were projected to retire with over $400,000 more³ than women modelled to retire this year⁴.

HESTA CEO Debby Blakey says the modelling, which factored in time out of the workforce to care for children and part-time work, demonstrated the significant impact on retirement balances from the higher SG.

“Nearly 80% of HESTA’s more than one million members are women, working in typically lower-paid industries, such as aged care and early childhood education,” Debby says.

“Many take time out of the workforce to care for children or loved ones, and this further impacts their ability to build adequate super balances.

“The modelling suggests women starting work today could retire with more than double the amount of super compared to female workers modelled to retire this year.”

While Debby has welcomed both the lift to the SG rate and paying super on Commonwealth Paid Parental Leave as important steps to strengthen Australia’s retirement system, she points out that there are still policy settings that disadvantage women and those earning lower wages. 

“These changes should be seen as the foundation for further progress on creating a fairer super system, not the end.”

Read more about how we’re working to improve the super system for HESTA members.

Modelling prepared by HESTA and partner Laneway Analytics is not a prediction, is for illustrative purposes only and as such the outcome cannot be guaranteed and may be different. The modelling made assumptions including: Begin career at age 18; Retirement age 67; AWOTE: 3.7% pa; CPI 3.7% pa; Investment return net of investment fees and taxes CPI +3% pa; 18-year-old HESTA member account balance $1500; 18-year old HESTA member total contribution $1543 for first year of work, then contributions made annually thereafter based on HESTA’s assumptions around salary progression; Default insurance cover (premiums CPI-adjusted); Accumulation fixed fee $52 pa (non-indexed); Accumulation variable fee 0.15% pa (non-indexed); Full-time work at ages 18 to 30, 44 to 67; 26 weeks of super on Paid Parental Leave at ages 31 and 33; Part-time work (0.6 FTE) at ages 34 to 43; No other retirement savings.

¹ Super Members Council, Thousands of dollars extra in retirement savings thanks to July super boost, June 2025

² Association of Superannuation Funds Australia, ASFA Retirement Standard, March 2025

³ Estimated retirement amount (ERA) for a typical HESTA member who will start their career on 1 July 2025 and retires on 30 June 2074, earning 12% super for their full career.

⁴ Compared to the ERA for a typical HESTA member who started their career on 1 July 1976 and will retire on 30 June 2025, earning 3% super starting 1992 and taking account of historical super guarantee increases.