abbrev8
financial services
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
What’s in our
retirement recipe?
Our Retirement Check is designed to be quick, simple and a little bit fun. Here’s exactly what we’ve assumed behind the scenes so you can see how your result was calculated.
ASSUMPTIONS LAST REVIEWED: 17 AUGUST 2026
01 — THE NUMBERS
Calculator assumptions
These are the parameters currently used by the Abbrev8 Retirement Check.
| Assumption | Value | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement age | 67 | We project your super balance from your current age through to age 67. |
| Employer Super Guarantee | 12% | We assume employer contributions equal 12% of the annual salary entered. |
| Contributions tax | 15% | We deduct 15% from estimated employer contributions before adding them to super. |
| Investment option | Balanced | A Balanced investment option is used as the standard investment assumption. |
| Investment return | 6.1% p.a. | Based on MoneySmart’s Balanced investment return assumption, net of investment tax and investment fees. |
| Inflation adjustment | 3.7% p.a. | Our simplified model combines 2.5% cost-of-living inflation and a further 1.2% increase in living standards to express the projection in today’s-dollar terms. |
| Fixed administration fee | $59 p.a. | An estimated annual administration fee is deducted from the projected super balance. |
| Percentage administration fee | 0.11% p.a. | An additional percentage administration fee is applied to the super balance each year. |
| Comfortable retirement — single | $630,000 | ASFA comfortable retirement lump-sum benchmark used by the calculator for a single homeowner retiring at age 67. |
| Comfortable retirement — couple | $730,000 | ASFA comfortable retirement lump-sum benchmark used by the calculator for a homeowner couple, combined, retiring at 67. |
| Home ownership | Assumed | The comfortable retirement benchmark used in the calculator assumes the household owns its home at retirement. |
| Couple calculations | Combined figures | If “Me + Partner” is selected, the entered salary and super balance are treated as combined household figures. |
| Salary over projection period | Constant in today’s dollars | The calculator applies the entered salary throughout the projection rather than modelling individual promotions, career changes or salary increases. |
02 — THE RECIPE
How the projection works
Behind the fun result is a straightforward compound-growth calculation.
1
Start with your super
We begin with the current super balance
you entered.
2
Add contributions
We estimate ongoing employer contributions,
deduct contributions tax and add those
contributions to your super.
3
Compound it
Each year’s investment growth builds on the
previous year’s balance, growth and
contributions — right through to age 67.
Yes — compounding is included.
The longer your money remains invested, the more
opportunity there is for investment earnings to
generate further investment earnings.
03 — KEEPING IT SIMPLE
What we haven’t included
This is a 30-second educational check, not a full retirement projection. To keep it simple, the calculator does not individually model:
Salary sacrifice
Personal super contributions
Government co-contributions
Insurance premiums
Adviser fees
Career breaks
Parental leave
Market ups and downs
Different investment options
Division 293 tax
Contribution caps
Maximum SG contribution base
Individual salary growth
Pension drawdowns after 67
Changes in legislation
Two people with the same age, salary and super can
still have very different retirement outcomes.
Your actual result depends on your personal
circumstances, investment choices, fees,
contributions, tax position and what happens
between now and retirement.
04 — THE MENU
How we choose your result
Your projected super balance is compared with the relevant comfortable retirement benchmark. These are Abbrev8’s playful game bands — they are not official MoneySmart, ASFA or government classifications.
| Projected balance | Your result | What it means in the game |
|---|---|---|
| Below 70% of benchmark | 🍜 INSTANT NOODLES… FOR NOW. | Your projected balance is significantly below the comfortable benchmark. |
| 70% to under 90% | NOT QUITE CAVIAR TERRITORY. | You’re getting closer, but there’s still a gap to the benchmark. |
| 90% to under 115% | 🎯 BANG ON THE MONEY. | You’re sitting roughly around the comfortable retirement benchmark. |
| 115% to under 150% | 🥂 GETTING A BIT POSH, ARE WE? | Your projection is comfortably above the benchmark. |
| 150% or more | 👑 CAVIAR EVERY DAY? STEADY ON. | Your projected super is substantially above the benchmark used by the game. |
05 — ONE IMPORTANT DETAIL
About the comfortable benchmark
The ASFA comfortable retirement balances used in
this calculator are designed around retirement at
age 67 and home ownership.
ASFA’s lump-sum methodology also assumes retirement
capital is drawn down over retirement and that the
retiree receives a part Age Pension.
Renting in retirement? Your retirement funding needs may therefore be substantially different from the benchmark used in this quick calculator.
Renting in retirement? Your retirement funding needs may therefore be substantially different from the benchmark used in this quick calculator.
06 — WHERE THE NUMBERS COME FROM
Official sources
We review the key assumptions periodically so the calculator does not quietly become outdated.
The Abbrev8 Retirement Check is a simplified
educational illustration only.
It does not take into account your objectives,
financial situation or needs and is not personal
financial advice.
The figures shown are estimates based on the
assumptions described above.
Actual investment returns, fees, contributions,
taxation, legislation and personal circumstances
will vary.