Retirement & Financial Freedom Calculator
Project your super savings across three real-return scenarios at the current 12% Super Guarantee rate and see your FIRE date — free, no sign-up.
Starting amount
Monthly contribution
Totals are used as entered; account-level limits may apply — switch to account breakdown to check.
Your age today & at retirement
Expected annual return
Nominal, before inflation.
Expected inflation
Advanced settings
Concessional (before-tax) cap: $32,500/yr.
Super Guarantee contribution helper (12%)
≈ $1,693/mo illustrative retirement withdrawal · funds last beyond age 90
Assumptions & sources
- Conservative real return:3.5%(editorial planning scenario, not a forecast)
- Base real return:5.0%(editorial planning scenario, not a forecast)
- Optimistic real return:6.5%(editorial planning scenario, not a forecast)
- Annual fee (subtracted from each scenario):0.50%
- Withdrawal rate:4.0%
- Contribution timing:Year-end(contributions land once per year and stop at your chosen retirement age)
- Inflation (documentation only):2.5%(not applied a second time — every figure above is already in today's money; this rate only shows nominal ≈ real + inflation)
- Editorial long-run assumption — effective 12 Jul 2026 · verified 12 Jul 2026
- Concessional (before-tax) contributions cap — effective 1 Jul 2026 · verified 12 Jul 2026
- Super Guarantee (SG) rate — effective 1 Jul 2025 · verified 12 Jul 2026
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Methodology
Every figure on this page is in today’s purchasing power. Growth uses three real (already inflation-adjusted) return scenarios — conservative, base and optimistic — so nothing is inflated a second time. Your annual fee is subtracted from each scenario exactly once.
The three scenarios are editorial planning ranges, not forecasts or regulatory figures. We derive them by triangulating the published nominal return ranges of diversified portfolios from three research providers — the Vanguard Capital Markets Model, the BlackRock Capital Market Assumptions and the J.P. Morgan Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions — then subtracting a documented 2.5% inflation assumption and rounding to three deliberately wide scenarios (nominal ≈ real + inflation). We do not claim probabilities for any scenario, and we review this methodology at least annually against fresh publications from the same three providers.
You enter a nominal return and expected inflation; we subtract inflation to project in today’s purchasing power (real return ≈ nominal − inflation). Conservative and optimistic scenarios are a ±1.5 percentage point editorial range around your own real-return figure, not a second set of inputs.
The current Super Guarantee (SG) rate is 12% of eligible earnings — the Contributions step includes an editable helper that suggests an employer contribution of your annual eligible earnings × 12% ÷ 12, which you can always overwrite. The concessional (before-tax) contributions cap is currently $32,500 per year; unused cap carried forward from previous years counts only when you enter it yourself as available room, never assumed from the national cap.
Any expected Age Pension or other retirement benefit comes entirely from your own official estimate — see “How is my Age Pension calculated?” below — and counts only from the age you say it starts.
Not financial advice. This tool is for education and planning only. It does not know your full financial picture, tax situation or risk tolerance — consult a licensed financial adviser before acting on retirement decisions.
Worked example
A 30-year-old planning to retire at 65 with $20,000 in super and $5,000 in a taxable account, contributing $400/month in voluntary salary-sacrifice at a 0.5% annual fee, targeting $4,000/month in today’s money at a 4.0% withdrawal rate — these are the same numbers already filled in above, shown as the “Example result” until you change anything.
Your official retirement planning guidance
Wealth Horizon never estimates entitlement or benefit amounts automatically. Get your own guidance from Moneysmart’s “Prepare to retire” guide and enter the monthly amount and starting age in the Assumptions step — the projection counts it only from that age onward.
FAQ
Is this financial advice?
No. Wealth Horizon is an educational planning tool, not personal financial or tax advice. It illustrates three scenarios from the numbers you enter — talk to a licensed financial adviser before making retirement decisions.
Why is everything shown in today's money instead of nominal dollars?
All figures use real (inflation-adjusted) returns, so a result of "$3,000/month" means $3,000 of today's purchasing power — not a bigger nominal number that buys less in the future. This avoids the illusion of growth from inflation alone.
How does the Super Guarantee contribution helper work?
Enter your annual eligible earnings in the Contributions step and the calculator suggests an employer super contribution of your earnings × the current 12% Super Guarantee (SG) rate ÷ 12 — the suggestion pre-fills the employer contribution field, but it stays fully editable, it never locks the field.
What happens if my super contribution goes above the concessional cap?
In simple mode, your total is used exactly as entered and never clamped — you'll see an informational note that account-level limits may apply. In account breakdown mode, the concessional (before-tax) cap of $32,500/yr is applied only when you've also entered that account's year-to-date contribution, and the clamp is always shown with the amount applied. Unused cap you carry forward from previous years is only ever counted when you enter it yourself as available room, never assumed.
How is my Age Pension calculated?
It isn't — Wealth Horizon never estimates your Age Pension entitlement. Get your own guidance from Moneysmart's "Prepare to retire" guide and enter the monthly amount and the age it starts; the calculator counts it only from that age onward.
What does "financial independence" mean here?
The financial independence (FI) date is the first projected year in which your illustrative withdrawal plus any benefit you've entered would cover your target monthly income, for the scenario shown. If that never happens by your chosen retirement age, we say so instead of showing a date.
Can I change the withdrawal rate?
Yes — the withdrawal rate is adjustable from 2.5% to 5.0% (default 4.0%) in the Assumptions step, and every result recalculates immediately using the rate you choose.
Why do you subtract inflation?
You enter a nominal return and expected inflation; we subtract inflation to project in today's purchasing power (real return ≈ nominal − inflation). A 9% nominal return during 4% inflation buys the same as a 5% real return during 0% inflation — showing the real number avoids the illusion of growth from inflation alone.
Related tools
- Money Leak Scanner Australia — find more money to put toward these contributions.
- Superannuation Calculator — model just your super account mechanics.
- Personal Finance guides — broader Australian saving and investing coverage.