Superannuation is a very important tool to save for retirement, whether that’s for a 60-year-old or a 20-year-old.

Superannuation offers several benefits, such as a lower tax rate during the accumulation phase. In retirement, the tax rate can be as low as 0% (depending on the superannuation balance).

Additionally, superannuation’s structure encourages long-term investing, which I think is the best way to build wealth.

Everyone wants to have a good retirement, and I think reaching the current average superannuation of a 60-year-old is a good target to aim at.

Average superannuation balance for 60-year-olds

Before talking about what Australians can do to grow their superannuation balance, let’s look at what the actual target is.

According to APRA data, the average super balance for 55 to 59-year-olds is $243,300, and for 60 to 64-year-olds it is $270,800. So, let’s say an investor wants to reach approximately $250,000.

A quarter of a million dollars is a significant amount of money to boost income in retirement. It could add $10,000 of income or more, depending on the dividend yield, rental yield, or interest rate of the assets inside superannuation.

When we look at the average superannuation balances for people aged between 25 and 29, the average balance is $28,000. That shows there’s a lot of growth to happen over the next 30 to 40 years.

So, how can aspiring Aussies get to a $250,000 superannuation balance by 60?

Superannuation guarantee

The first and perhaps most important element of saving towards retirement is the mandatory contributions that businesses make for their staff.

Businesses are currently required to pay their employees 12% of their wage into super. The required amount used to be less than 10% of wages, but now it’s 12%.

Let’s imagine someone earns $50,000 per year, which is close to the minimum wage on an annualised basis. That means that person would receive $6,000 of superannuation contributions over 12 months (minus the superannuation tax of 15% on contributions).

Excluding inflation effects, that would be net contributions of $51,000 per decade. Three decades of contributions would be $153,000. Of course, over time, people may get promoted or upskill, leading to a sizeable increase in their earnings and superannuation contributions.

However, plenty of readers aren’t earning just the minimum wage, so their annual superannuation contribution would be higher and help build towards $250,000 faster. For some higher earners, the superannuation guarantee contributions may be all they need to reach a large figure, perhaps beyond what the average superannuation balance of a 60-year-old is.

Aussie investors can do a few things to grow their superannuation balance faster than the bare minimum.  

Invest in growth assets

Superannuation allows Australians to invest in a variety of assets. Over the long term, some asset classes have a better track record than others.

For me, as someone who is decades away from accessing my superannuation, I think it’s better to invest significantly (entirely, in my case) in ‘growth’ assets in superannuation. Shares are a lot more appealing to me than cash.

Cash and bond returns are significantly hampered by inflation, so the ‘real’ return is even less attractive.

I’m choosing to invest in international shares and great ASX shares in my superannuation. Ones that I believe will help grow my retirement balance by around 10% (or more) per year on average over the long term.

I mentioned before that someone earning a full-time minimum wage may contribute a net figure of $51,000 per decade to their superannuation. If that $51,000 grows by 8% per year, $51,000 doubles to more than $100,000 in approximately nine years. After another nine years, that original $51,000 could be worth around $200,000. And so on.

In conclusion, investing in growth assets and leaving them alone for decades can do some heavy lifting for growing a superannuation balance towards $250,000, or significantly more.

Make additional contributions

For people who have enough income to cover their essential spending, they can make additional salary sacrifice contributions out of their wage called reportable employer superannuation contributions (RESC), up to a certain dollar amount each year. This is a tax-efficient way to do it. It will likely need to be mentioned on the tax return.

Aussies can also make annual after-tax contributions to their superannuation, up to a certain (large) dollar figure, before being subject to extra tax. According to the Australian Taxation Office, the non-concessional contributions cap is $130,000 for FY27, up from $120,000 in FY26.

There are also a number of other, smaller, things that Australians can do, such as spouse super contributions to a low-earning spouse to boost their balance – this comes with a tax offset.

It’d be a good idea to ask a financial advisor what the current limits are and what the benefits are for each of these ideas.

Foolish takeaway

When you combine many years of superannuation contributions and investing, I think many Australians can reach the average superannuation balance of a 60-year-old. It just takes time, compounding, and choosing the right investments.

The post How almost any Australian can reach the average superannuation balance of a 60-year-old appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

ASX shares closed on Tuesday afternoon off the back of a rally in ASX technology shares and a lower oil price.

Here are four ASX shares that brokers expect to outperform broader indexes over the next 12 months.

ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD)

After dipping to a multi-year low in early June, ResMed shares have rebounded by around 24% and are trading at $31.95 per share at the time of writing. They’re still around 12% lower year to date, however.

The ASX healthcare shares started climbing higher in August, and they’ve been pretty stable over the past couple of weeks. 

It looks like previous macroeconomic pressures and regulatory uncertainty have eased slightly, and investors are more optimistic about shares in the sector.

The company’s latest fourth-quarter earnings update shows the business has continued to grow at a healthy pace, and its margins have continued expanding. The company has also generated strong free cash flow. 

TradingView data shows the majority (18 out of 31) of brokers have a buy/strong buy rating on ResMed shares. The average $37.57 target price implies the shares could increase up to 18% over the next 12 months, at the time of writing.

SiteMinder Ltd (ASX: SDR)

SiteMinder shares were hit by a disappointing FY26 results announcement in mid-August. The company posted a 22% increase in revenue and a 96.5% increase in EBITDA. Its net loss also improved to $11.3 million, down from a net loss of $24.5 million in FY25. 

The company also said it expects its adjusted EBITDA margin to keep expanding in FY27 and reach the mid-20% range by FY30.

Investors weren’t thrilled and the shares crashed around 22% by the end of the month. They’ve then continued falling ever since. The ASX shares are now down around 56% for the year to date, to $2.70 each.

But it looks like the sell-off was way overdone, and at the current share price, they’re trading well below fair value.

The experts agree. TradingView data shows that the majority (13 out of 16) have a buy/strong buy rating on the ASX shares. They all agree on some element of upside ahead. The average $5.28 target price implies an upside of around 96%, at the time of writing.

Liontown Ltd (ASX: LTR)

Liontown shares enjoyed a good rally through the first quarter of 2026, but then they started tumbling around the middle of the year. At the time of writing, the shares are trading at 83 cents each, which is around 49% lower than the start of the year.

Liontown is practically a pure-play lithium miner, and its assets are overwhelmingly lithium-focused. This means it is sensitive to and heavily dependent on lithium price trajectories. This year’s crash and share price decline are almost entirely due to lithium price movements, which have followed a similar pattern.

But over the long term, the ASX shares are well placed to benefit from strong lithium pricing and expanding global EV demand. The miner’s development pipeline and exposure to future supply chains are also attractive.

TradingView data shows the majority (7 out of 14) hold a buy/strong buy rating on the shares. Another four rate the ASX shares as a hold, and three have a sell rating.

The average $1.28 target price implies an upside of around 53%, at the time of writing.

NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

The data centre operator’s shares have tumbled lower over the past month, to $10.44 a piece at the time of writing. That’s 15% lower for the year to date.

It looks like the company’s latest FY26 results disappointed investors, prompting many to sell their shares. Since the announcement in late August, the ASX shares are down around 25%.

But as the company has physical centres, cooling, power, security services, and project support, and as data usage explodes, demand for secure, high-quality infrastructure is likely to boom too. 

The company is also investing heavily in business expansion, including plans to develop new facilities and expand existing sites.

Analysts are bullish that we’ll see some strong share price growth going forward.

TradingView data shows the majority (14 out of 15) have a buy/strong buy rating on the shares. The average $20.31 target price implies an upside of around 96% at the time of writing.

The post 4 ASX shares tipped by brokers to return 18% to 96% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended ResMed and SiteMinder. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended ResMed and SiteMinder. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Investing in ASX shares, especially dividend shares, is an ever-changing challenge. Recently, I’ve been thinking about just how different the world we are navigating in 2026 is from the one we were feeling out just a few years ago.

Just to be clear, this is from a financial standpoint. I don’t have enough time or patience to discuss geopolitics, the environment, or ‘events dear boy’, although those have all changed beyond recognition as well. For now, let’s stick to finance.

Five years ago, interest rates around the world were essentially at zero (0.1% in Australia, to be precise). With the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raising the cash rate to 4.6% last week, that certainly feels like a world away.

Back when interest rates were at that historic low, it was easy to conclude that the best way to secure a stream of passive income was by buying ASX dividend stocks.

With a cash rate of 0.1%, it was almost impossible to find a ‘safe’ investment that even compensated one for inflation (even though that was at a low base, too). Savings accounts and term deposits were only yielding between 0.5% and 1% per annum. That’s almost comparable to the underside of the mattress.

As such, it was a no-brainer to dump cash into blue-chip ASX dividend shares that were yielding 2%, 4%, or even 6%. Plus, you usually get the benefits of full franking to boot.

ASX dividend investing in 2026

Today, the game has changed, and dramatically so. ASX dividend stocks are not as lucrative as they once were. The best yields you can get from a big four ASX bank are hovering around 4.5%, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) well under 3.5%. Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) is in that boat too. Other popular options like Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) are also offering yields comfortably under 4%.

However, the steep increase in interest rates since 2021 has changed the other side of the playing field far more substantially.

Savings accounts and term deposits have gone from their sub-1% yields five years ago to today offering as much as 5.5% per annum. That’s real cash flow that’s available without any capital risk whatsoever.

Think about it. Investors have the choice between risking their capital in the stock market and getting a franked yield of 4% on most blue-chip shares, or obtaining a risk-free yield of 5%-plus from the bank.

For many income investors, particularly those who have retired, the choice is easy.

As we’ve already demonstrated, nothing lasts forever in the world of finance, and this rather strange situation probably won’t be any different. Also keep in mind that, long term, shares usually outperform cash investments, even in periods of high interest rates. But even so, the investing game has changed, so take advantage (if it makes sense for your personal circumstances) while you can.

The post The ASX dividend game has changed. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.