Knowing how much superannuation you have in the first place is a great starting point for figuring out how much income you’ll be able to rely on in retirement.

And while comparisons with others might not always be useful, there are tools available to help you discern whether you’ll be able to afford a comfortable retirement when the time comes.

How much superannuation do people aged 45 actually have?

The most recent figures from the Association of Superannuation Funds (ASFA) show that the average superannuation balance for men aged 45-49 is $193,501, while for women it is $147,146.

What is perhaps more useful is ASFA’s Super Detective tool, which allows you to enter your age, and one of two income brackets, and it will give an estimate of how much you need in your superannuation to be on track for a comfortable retirement.

For people aged 45 earning $75,000 per year, this comes out to $209,500, while for those earning $100,000, it is $173,000.

Keep in mind that ASFA’s Retirement Standard assumes that you retire at 67 and own your home outright.

The Retirement Standard calculates that a comfortable retirement needs an annual income stream of $56,166 for singles and $78,998 for couples.

This so-called comfortable retirement includes the ability to afford top-level private health cover, to own and maintain a reasonable car, and to enjoy occasional travel and leisure activities.

What if your superannuation is falling short?

If your superannuation needs a top up, it’s worth looking into concessional contributions.

These are pre-tax contributions you can make into your superannuation up to a cap of $32,500.

Your employer’s contributions and any salary sacrifice amounts are included in this amount.

If you have unused cap amounts at the end of the financial year, you can check your myGov account to see how much you can contribute, with those contributions attracting a 15% tax rate, and therefore likely to be tax-effective.

If you have unused amounts from the previous five financial years, these amounts can also be used as concessional contributions. However, your superannuation balance must be less than $500,000 at 30 June of the previous financial year in order to be able to take advantage of this method.

It is also possible to make non-concessional contributions of up to $130,000, with these amounts not offering any tax benefits.

Under what is known as the “bring forward arrangement”, it is also possible to use 1-2 years of future non-concessional contributions, as long as you are aged under 75 and have less than $1.84 million in superannuation on 30 June of the previous financial year.

The post Average superannuation balance at 45. How does yours compare? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England 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.

It was a volatile and ultimately negative session for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and many ASX shares this Thursday.

After yesterday’s drop, it seemed investors were in the mood to keep selling this morning when the market opened sharply lower. However, the ASX 200 spent much of the day recovering, and only ended up closing with a loss of 0.094%. That leaves the index at 8,719.7 points.

This wild day on the Australian markets came after a gloomy mid-week session on the American markets this morning.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI), in a strange coincidence, exactly matched today’s showing from the ASX, falling 0.094%.

However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was far more decisive, dropping a hefty 1.88%.

Let’s get back to the local markets now and take a look at how today’s trading conditions percolated down into the various ASX sectors.

Winners and losers

Despite the market’s slight loss, we saw many corners of the market do quite well.

First though, let’s get the red sectors out of the way.

Leading the losers this Thursday were mining stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) was hit hard, tanking by a nasty 3.95%.

Tech shares had a day to forget too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) crashing 3.41%.

Gold stocks were no safe haven either. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) cratered by 2.88%.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) were a little tamer, though, as you can see by the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ)’s 0.74% slump.

Our last losers this Thursday were energy shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) was set back by 0.04% today.

Let’s turn to the winners now. Leading said winners this session were consumer staples stocks, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) rocketing up 3.47%.

Financial shares also had a strong day. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) soared 2.19%.

We can say the same for utilities stocks, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)’s 2.09% surge.

Communications shares also ran hot. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) jumped 1.54% today.

Healthcare shares didn’t miss out, with the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) lifting 0.68%.

Nor did consumer discretionary stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) bounced up 0.63% this Thursday.

Finally, industrial shares finished comfortably ahead, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)’s 0.28% improvement.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Financial services stock Generation Development Group Ltd (ASX: GDG) was our winner this session. Generation shares exploded 17.16% higher today, closing out at $3.14 each.

There wasn’t any news from Generation that easily explains this. However, the company has been bouncing back with a vengeance after recently hitting a 52-week low.

Here’s how the other high flyers landed their planes:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Generation Development Group Ltd (ASX: GDG)	$3.14	17.16%
4DMedical Ltd (ASX: 4DX)	$4.08	7.37%
Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ)	$6.87	5.86%
Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC)	$0.65	4.84%
Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)	$5.94	4.58%
Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)	$41.28	4.27%
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN)	$10.62	3.81%
A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)	$6.82	3.65%
Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA)	$61.35	3.45%
Vivcinity Centres (ASX: VCX)	$2.81	3.31%

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary that shows which companies made big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Treasury Wine Estates. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bendigo And Adelaide Bank and Treasury Wine Estates. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Generation Development Group and Nine Entertainment. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares are down 0.2% to 8,714.8 points on Thursday.

Meanwhile, brokers have lifted their ratings on several ASX 200 shares this week. 

Let’s review. 

PLS Group Ltd (ASX: PLS)

The PLS Group share price is $2.97, down 6.3% today.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 lithium share has tumbled 30%.

Bell Potter upgraded PLS Group shares to a buy rating on Wednesday.

The broker cut its 12-month price target from $5.20 to $4.40.

This still implies a potential 48% upside ahead.

Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN)

The Minerals Resources share price is $44.36, down 4.9% today.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 mining share has fallen 18%.

Morgans upgraded Mineral Resources shares to a buy rating on Wednesday.

The broker cut its 12-month price target from $71 to $65.

This suggests a potential 46% upside ahead.

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)

The Paladin Energy share price is $6.89, down 5% today.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 uranium share has descended 28%.

Morgans upgraded its rating from accumulate to buy this week.

The broker has a 12-month price target of $13.10.

This implies a potential 90% upside ahead.

Morgans said:

PDN’s 1Q27 result reflected the anticipated slow start to FY27, with Langer Heinrich Mine (LHM) uranium production of 1.0Mlbs below consensus expectations of 1.16Mlbs.

Uranium sales of 1.16Mlbs were in line with consensus expectations of 1.13Mlbs.

The result was impacted by the flagged and planned July plant shutdown and weaker recovery rates due to ore characteristics.

Mining momentum and realised pricing – mining performance improved qoq following strong performance in 4Q26 and realised pricing increased 12% to US$79.4/lb, a record at LHM.

Following recent share price weakness, we upgrade our rating to BUY (previously ACCUMULATE) …

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)

The Lynas Rare Earths share price is $10.88, down 6% today.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 rare earths share has lost one-fifth of its market capitalisation.

Morgan Stanley upgraded Lynas Rare Earths shares to a buy rating on Monday.

The broker lowered its price target from $15.45 to $14.65.

This indicates a potential gain of 34% over the next year. 

Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD)

The Ampol share price is $43.24, down 0.6% today.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 energy share has risen 2%.

UBS upgraded Ampol shares to a buy rating on Tuesday.

The broker upped its 12-month price target from $41.50 to $47.75.

This suggests a potential 10% upside ahead.

The post 5 ASX 200 stocks analysts have upgraded this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Could Paladin Energy shares return 90% in 12 months?
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• Paladin Energy: Q1 FY2027 uranium output and outlook
• 2 ASX lithium shares to buy with 38% to 120% upside

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. 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.