Superannuation in 2025 is performing strongly, with median growth funds returning 9.3% in the calendar year. Key changes, including the Super Guarantee increasing to 12% on July 1, 2025, and super being paid on Government-funded Parental Leave, are enhancing retirement savings. Total assets reached $4.3 trillion by June 2025, supported by positive returns.
What's changing? On 1 July 2025, the Super Guarantee rate will increase from 11.5% to 12% of your before-tax earnings.
For the third year running, super funds surpassed expectations in the 2025 calendar year. Against a backdrop of Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs and rising geopolitical tensions, the median Growth fund (61-80% growth assets) returned 9.3%.
The top fund overall was legalsuper MySuper Balanced which returned 11.5 per cent during 2025, closely followed by NGS Super Diversified (MySuper) which returned 11.2 per cent. In third place was Hostplus Balanced, returning 10.5 per cent for the year.
You super account balance can go up and down – and that's normal. Here's why: your super is invested in the market and investment markets, like shares and property, can go up or down. One reason your super balance may fluctuate is because it may follow the performance of the markets in which it is invested.
From 1 July 2024, the super guarantee, that is - the percentage of your wage that your employer is required to pay into your super account, will increase from 11.0% to 11.5%. The super guarantee will continue to rise in 0.5% increments until it reaches 12% in 2025.
Like maintaining a garden, your super account needs ongoing care and attention to thrive. If your budget allows, making extra contributions (via salary sacrificing or making personal after-tax contributions) during a downturn can give your retirement savings more time and opportunity to grow.
In the organisation's super balance update, it found 2.5 per cent of the population have a super account of more than $1 million, as of June 2021. This represents 417,567 individuals, ASFA said, and is a 29 per cent increase from the 322,200 individuals who held over $1 million in June 2019.
The Super Consumers Australia guide
It assumes you'll own your home and won't be paying rent or mortgage repayments once you've retired. The guide estimates a 'medium' lifestyle will cost a couple who are already retired about $60,000 per year (with a required super balance at retirement of $371,000).
$1.26 million is the new target for comfortable retirement in 2025. See how retirement savings compare by age and generation — plus get actionable planning tips.
From 1 July 2025, the SG rate is 12% of your employee's ordinary time earnings. You might need to pay a higher SG rate if it's in an award or enterprise agreement. Super contributions are paid in addition to your employee's wages or salary. Employees can ask you to make extra post-tax super payments for them.
Pension increases for 2025 varied, with U.S. Social Security seeing a 2.5% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) in January, while some state/local pensions (like NY State) had smaller increases (e.g., 1.2%) and different schedules, and federal COLA estimates for 2026 were announced later in 2025 (around 2.8%). Key changes included higher IRS limits for retirement plans and increased Social Security taxable maximums for 2025, with varying boosts based on inflation data for the prior year.
Retiring at 60 with $500,000 in super is possible but challenging, depending heavily on your spending, lifestyle, and if you qualify for the Australian Age Pension. You might cover modest expenses using strategies like drawing down around $20,000 annually (using the 4% rule as a guide) plus other income, but it requires careful budgeting, potentially part-time work, and reducing living costs. A financial advisor can help tailor a plan, as $500k alone usually supports a basic to moderate retirement, not a lavish one.
Your State Pension and Your Retirement
In the UK, the State Pension has risen in the past few years thanks to the previous government's Triple Lock. This increases the State Pension amount in line with the highest wages, inflation, or 2.5%, with 2025 being the year of the wages, which is the highest of the three.
The top ten financial mistakes most people make after retirement are:
With that being said, what is a wealthy retirement? Well, according to ASFA, a comfortable retirement for a couple is around $75,000 per year and $53,000 for a single person. Given this, I would consider achieving a retirement income of, say, 30% over these amounts to be a wealthy retirement.
The safest places for retirement money prioritize capital preservation, including U.S. Treasury securities, FDIC-insured savings accounts/CDs, and fixed annuities, offering guaranteed returns or government backing, while also considering high-yield savings, cash management accounts, and TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities) to balance safety with some growth and inflation protection, often balanced within a diversified portfolio.
While industry insiders are generally cautious, few expect a crash. Morgan Stanley notes “continued equity gains in 2026” with modest growth, as a lot of good news is already priced in. Fidelity's 2026 outlook is that it “could be another positive year” for the market — but investors shouldn't ignore risks.