How to boost your superannuation before retirement

Knowing exactly how much money you need in superannuation before you retire is a long-running debate, but experts say there’s a few tricks workers can do to help keep the fund ticking.

While the magical $1,000,000 figure is a common estimate for retirement, Australian Super’s Paul Schroder says retirees don’t need even half that amount.

“The numbers that get bandied around are misleading,” he said.

“Most people will never save a million dollars and they won’t need it.”

Mr Schroder said those with a superannuation balance of $160,000 could end up with $300 per fortnight of extra spending for someone on the pension.

“That can pay for your car, your public transport, it could cover your gas and electricity before you have to touch the pension,” he said.

The experts have also called for employees to add an extra $50 per week to their super in a bid to boost their funds when it comes time to retire.

A 50-year-old worker who earns $70,000 a year and $100,000 in super now can expect to retire with about $277,000, the figures show.

But if the same worker added an extra $50 for the remainder of their working life, that retirement figure balloons out to $337,000 – which is an additional $60,000.

“As little as $10 a week would make a big difference in retirement,” Mr Schroder said.