Superannuation through generations
– 20s, 30s, 40s

Some of the information in this article may be out of date. We are currently in the process of updating our content to reflect FY26 details.

This is the first article in a two-part series about superannuation through generations, covering how to tackle superannuation in your 20s, 30s and 40s.

Superannuation is money put aside by your employer during your working life that you will use during your retirement.

But there are rules that govern when you can access your superannuation and these are known as “conditions of release” and “preservation rules.”

Preservation rules

Your preservation age is the age you can access your super.

If you were born before 1 July 1960, you have already reached your preservation age of 55 years.

You can access your super once you have met a condition of release.

If you were born after 1 July 1960 your preservation age depends on when you were born.

Conditions of release

You can access your super when you:

• reach your preservation age and retire
• reach your preservation age and choose to begin a transition to retirement income stream while you are still working
• are 65 years old (even if you have not retired).

You can also access super in some special circumstances, including:

• COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) – early release of superannuation
• compassionate grounds
• severe financial hardships
• terminal medical condition
• temporary incapacity
• permanent incapacity
• super less than $200
• temporary resident departing Australia.

During your young and carefree years, your preservation age will seem as if it’s aeons away and putting money into your superannuation is most likely the furthest thing from your mind.

But considering that your retirement period could account for one-third of your entire lifespan, you should put some thought into how you’ll be able to support yourself financially when your working days are done.

It is possible this will be one of the best decades of your life, and it makes sense that you’ll be working to live, not living to work during this time.

Retirement will seem a long way off, but paying a little bit of attention to super in your 20s can have a big payoff for your future.

Here’s a checklist of superannuation tips for your 20s:

• Ensure your employer is paying Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions regularly into your super account.
• Try to keep your superannuation in one place – having lots of different superannuation accounts means more fees and fewer earnings.
• Take advantage of government superannuation initiatives that could boost your super savings, such as co-contributions.
• Look at the insurances linked to your superannuation – are they relevant to your life stage?
• Consider more risky investment options – your superannuation is locked up for a while yet, so why not test out some of the less defensive investment schemes your super fund is running?

At First Financial, clients that begin to seek financial advice from us in their 20s are usually firmly in the stage of accruing the savings required to kickstart their financial goals.

Ask us how we can help you to minimise debt and make savings part of your everyday routine.

You still feel young, carefree-ish and a long way off retirement, right?

For most of us, things start to get a bit more serious in our 30s.

We might partner up with someone, get hitched or even have children.

Hopefully, it is also the time we start acquiring assets, if that hasn’t already come to fruition.

Your 30s are also the time when, if you haven’t already sought financial advice, you will need to start.

Most working people in their 30s seek financial advice to help manage their finances and plan for the future, but you might be surprised to hear that this is also a crucial decade to begin planning for retirement.

Here’s a checklist of superannuation tips for your 30s:

• Make sure you’re in the right fund. Your 30s are a time to be discerning about the super fund you are a part of. We can help you to find the right fund for you.
• Consolidate. We reminded you in your 20s, but we’ll remind you again. Find the right superannuation fund then tackle that pesky paperwork to roll all of your super funds into it to avoid duplicate fees.
• Know your balance. How much superannuation do you have? If you don’t know the answer off the top of your head, why not? It’s your money and knowledge is power.
• Salary sacrifice – if you haven’t yet, it’s time to start.
• Is your spouse at home caring for the kids? Check if you can make superannuation contributions on their behalf.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) released a ‘Super Balance Detective’ on its Super Guru website as a guide to approximately how much superannuation you should have during your 30s to reach the ‘ASFA Comfortable Standard’ superannuation balance by age 67.

The results are as follows:

30: $54,000
31: $61,000
32: $68,000
33: $76,000
34: $85,000
35: $93,000
36: $102,000
37: $112,000
38: $122,000
39: $132,000

In your 30s and concerned you’re too far off the mark when it comes to super savings?

Contact us today to figure out how much money you’ll need to retire.

Okay troops, you’ve been at this working life gig for a while now and no doubt you’re starting to feel the twinges in your knees already, right?

Time is marching on, and it’s prudent to dig in and plan for your golden years, in earnest.

Here’s a checklist of superannuation tips for your 40s:

• Assess your retirement goals and calculate your potential retirement gap. Understanding how much you’ll need to comfortably retire is paramount in this important decade of your working life.
• Evaluate your investments and insurances – this is a good one to run past your financial adviser. Ask your adviser whether or not the way you have your super invested and the insurances attached to it are appropriate for your risk profile and your goals.
• Reduce your superannuation fees through the consolidation of superannuation funds and the right insurance choices.
• Maximise your super contributions. Take advantage of all government initiatives, salary sacrifice, concessional contributions, co-contributions and spousal contribution schemes. Your financial adviser can assist you to make sure these are within contribution limits and if there are any catch up provisions you can take advantage of.
• Make sure your beneficiary nominations are up to date.

Watch out for the next instalment in our superannuation series – covering off on how to manage your superannuation in your 50s, 60s and 70s.

At First Financial our financial advisers are specialists in retirement planning and making the most of your superannuation.

No matter which decade you’re currently in, our team has the right experience and advice to add certainty to your financial future and ensure your superannuation is managed in a way that brings your retirement dreams one step closer to reality.

Call us to book an obligation-free consultation today.