Keeping on track financially in your 40s

Your 40s are a funny decade. You’re busy enough that retirement feels distant, but old enough to sense that it isn’t. The mortgage is hopefully shrinking, the kids are expensive, the career is demanding, and superannuation is that thing sitting in the background that you’ll get to eventually.

Here’s the thing, eventually is now.

Where do you stand?

Before anything else, it helps to know your starting point. For women aged 40 to 44, the average super balance sits around $102,227, rising to approximately $136,667 by ages 45 to 49. For men, those figures are $131,792 and $180,958, respectively.

But averages only tell part of the story. The gap between the average balance at this life stage and the ASFA comfortable retirement track target of $210,000 to $280,000 highlights why this decade requires deliberate action, not passive reliance on employer contributions.

The good news is that you have time, and time is still one of the most powerful tools in the room.

Catch-up strategies worth knowing

From 1 July 2025, the Superannuation Guarantee reached its long-planned target of 12%, meaning employers are now contributing 12 cents for every dollar of ordinary time earnings into super. That helps. But for most people in their 40s, employer contributions alone won’t close the gap between where they are and where they want to be.

Salary sacrifice is one of the most effective levers available. Additional contributions above the Super Guarantee reduce your taxable income and boost your retirement savings, with the concessional contribution cap sitting at $30,000 for 2025/26 and increasing to $32,500 on 1 July 2026. Most people contribute well below that cap, leaving meaningful room to do more at a concessional tax rate.

If you haven’t topped up your contributions in previous years, there may be an additional opportunity available. If your total super balance was under $500,000 at the start of the financial year, you can carry forward unused concessional contribution amounts from up to five previous years, potentially allowing you to contribute significantly more than the standard annual cap in a single year. This can be particularly useful in a higher-income year or in a year when large capital gains were realised, or after a period of part-time work.

Balancing today with tomorrow

This is where most conversations in a financial planning practice get interesting. Nobody wants to sacrifice their current life entirely for a retirement that’s two decades away. Nor should they.

The most useful reframe is this: you’re not choosing between enjoying life now and funding retirement later. You’re designing a strategy that does both, with intention. That might mean modest salary sacrifice rather than aggressive, a review of whether your super is in the right investment option for your age and risk tolerance, and a clear picture of what retirement costs look like for you specifically.

The most successful retirement outcomes consistently come from planning early and acting consistently, not from dramatic gestures. Small, sustainable adjustments made in your 40s have decades to compound.

If you haven’t yet sat down and mapped your retirement trajectory clearly, your 40s are exactly the right time to start.