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Why getting advice ten years earlier was worth $137,000 at retirement

7 minutes| Jun 01 2026

By Paul Feeney, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Otivo

At 35, Maiya and Nick had almost identical super, and from there they did the same thing: each added an extra $50 a week until they retired at 65. Same habit, same finish line. Yet the projections have Maiya retiring with around $137,160 more. The difference isn't how much they saved over a working life — it's that Maiya started ten years earlier, at 25, and those ten years did something the following thirty couldn't repeat.

Starting super early gives compounding more time to work, so the timing of a contribution can matter as much as the amount. In an illustrative projection, two people each add $50 a week until 65 — the one who began at 25 rather than 35 is projected to finish with around $137,160 more.

What happened in Maiya and Nick's super?

Maiya opened her working life with a habit, not a windfall. At 25 she had $27,000 in super and decided to add $50 a week on top of her employer contributions, and she kept that up until 65. In this projection, her balance lands at about $1,226,257.

Nick's story starts a decade later. At 35 he had $139,973 — the same balance Maiya's account is projected to reach at 35 if she had added nothing extra. From 35, Nick did exactly what Maiya did: $50 a week, every week, until 65. His projected finish is about $1,089,097.

Same weekly habit. Same retirement age. A gap of roughly $137,160, or about 12.59% more for Maiya. The only meaningful difference between them is that her $50 a week started ten years sooner.

A quick note on the contributions themselves. The extra $50 a week sits on top of compulsory employer super — the super guarantee, which has been 12% since 1 July 2025. Voluntary contributions like this count towards annual contribution caps set by the ATO, and at $50 a week both Maiya and Nick stay comfortably within them. The current caps are published on the ATO website.

Why did ten years matter more than the money?

Here's the part that surprises people. Across those ten early years, Maiya added only about $26,000 in extra contributions. By 65, that decade of head start is projected to leave her around $137,160 ahead of Nick.

So roughly $111,160 of Maiya's advantage isn't money she contributed at all. It's growth — returns earning returns on contributions that sat in her fund a decade longer. The dollars she added in her twenties were modest. The time those dollars spent invested is what did the heavy lifting.

That's the uncomfortable truth about catching up. Nick can match Maiya's contributions every week for thirty years and still not close the gap, because the one thing he can't add back is time.

How does compounding reward starting super early?

Compounding is simply returns earning their own returns. Each year, growth is calculated not just on what's been contributed but on the gains already credited, so the balance builds on a larger and larger base. ASIC's MoneySmart describes this snowball effect as one of the most powerful forces in long-term investing.

Early contributions get the most trips around that cycle. A dollar invested at 25 has forty years to compound; the same dollar invested at 35 has thirty. Those ten extra years sit at the front of the curve, where the eventual payoff is largest — which is why the gap between Maiya and Nick is so much bigger than the $26,000 she actually put in early.

It helps to think about the three drivers of a final super balance: how much goes in, what it earns, and how long it stays invested. Maiya and Nick matched the first two. Maiya simply gave the third more room.

Can someone who starts later still catch up?

Starting later is not starting too late. Nick's projected $1,089,097 is a strong result — comfortably above the lump sum the ASFA Retirement Standard associates with a comfortable retirement for a single person at 67 (around $595,000). The lesson isn't that a late start fails. It's that the best time to begin tends to be whenever someone actually can.

For people who feel behind, a few things can move the needle: contributing a little earlier rather than waiting for the "right" moment, lifting contributions when income allows, and giving the balance as long as possible before it's drawn down. None of these require large sums. Maiya's edge came from $50 a week, not a fortune.

Where does financial advice fit in?

This is where good guidance earns its keep. The hardest part of Maiya's story isn't the maths — it's noticing the opportunity early enough to act on it, at an age when retirement feels distant and $50 a week has plenty of competing demands.

That's the quiet value of advice: it surfaces the move while time is still on your side. Otivo, a licensed digital advice platform (AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 485665), is built around exactly these decisions. When customers follow Otivo's advice in full, they could be better off on average by around $180,356 through optimised contributions, in today's dollars by retirement. Getting guidance sooner, even if it isn't perfect, often beats getting it perfect but late. You can explore the numbers for your own situation with Otivo's salary sacrifice and contributions tools.

Frequently asked questions

Is it ever too late to start adding to super?

No single age makes contributions pointless. Even contributions made closer to retirement spend some time invested, and they still add to the balance. Maiya's head start helped, but Nick's later start still produced a strong projected result. Many Australians find that starting whenever they can beats waiting for an ideal moment that may not come.

Do extra super contributions have a limit?

Yes. Both before-tax and after-tax voluntary contributions are subject to annual caps set by the ATO, and the before-tax cap is a combined limit that counts employer super alongside any voluntary contributions. The ATO publishes the current figures each financial year.

What do these projections assume?

They are illustrative, not guarantees. The balances shown depend on assumptions about investment returns, fees, contribution amounts and time invested, and actual outcomes vary with markets and personal circumstances. The value of the example is the relationship it shows between an early start and long-term growth, which holds regardless of the exact numbers.

How much of Maiya's advantage came from compounding?

Of the roughly $137,160 gap, only about $26,000 was extra cash Maiya contributed in her first ten years. The remaining $111,160 or so is growth on those earlier contributions — returns compounding over the additional decade they spent invested.

The difference between Maiya and Nick wasn't discipline or income — it was timing. If you're weighing up whether a small, regular contribution is something to start now, Otivo's retirement planning tools can help you see how the numbers could play out for your own circumstances before you commit to anything.

The information in this communication is current as at June 2026 and has been prepared by Otivo Pty Ltd ABN 47 602 457 732, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 485665. This content is general information only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not personal financial or taxation advice and should not be relied on as such. Before acting on any information, you should consider its appropriateness having regard to your personal circumstances. This material must not be reproduced in whole or in part, or posted on any social media platform, without the prior written consent of Otivo Pty Ltd.

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