According to the ASFA Retirement Standard (February 2026), a comfortable retirement costs approximately $54,840 a year for a single person and $77,375 a year for a couple. To self-fund this from age 67 alongside a part Age Pension, ASFA estimates a super balance of roughly $630,000 (single) or $730,000 (couple). These are benchmarks — your real number depends on home ownership, lifestyle and retirement age.

The concessional contributions cap rises from $30,000 to $32,500, the non-concessional cap rises from $120,000 to $130,000, and the bring-forward limit rises to $390,000. The transfer balance cap increases to $2.1 million. Payday Super also begins, and Division 296 — an additional tax on balances above $3 million — is due to commence.

If your total super balance was below $500,000 at 30 June 2025, 30 June 2026 is your last opportunity to use unused concessional cap space carried forward from the 2020–21 financial year. Once that date passes, that year's unused amount is gone permanently.

Salary sacrifice redirects pre-tax salary into super, taxed at 15% instead of your marginal rate — up to 47% for higher income earners. The catch: your employer's 12% Super Guarantee now counts toward the same concessional cap, leaving less headroom than before. The cap is $30,000 for 2025–26 and $32,500 from 1 July 2026.

Division 296 is an additional tax applying to a portion of earnings for individuals with a total super balance above $3 million, due to commence from 1 July 2026. Most clients in their 50s and 60s in Adelaide are comfortably under this threshold, but it's worth checking if you run an SMSF or hold a large balance.

Multiple super accounts often mean multiple sets of fees and, sometimes, duplicate insurance premiums quietly reducing your balance. Consolidating can lower costs, but check exit fees, performance and any insurance cover you'd lose before combining accounts.