Methodology

How we calculate your financial position

Transparent benchmarks built from real Australian data — so you can understand exactly where your numbers come from.

Data Sources

Built on authoritative Australian data

Our benchmarks are derived from publicly available Australian government and industry statistics. We do not make up numbers — every benchmark traces back to a primary source.

ABS — Australian Bureau of Statistics
Survey of Income and Housing (SIH) — provides household income, net worth, and wealth distribution by age group across Australia.
ASFA — Superannuation Funds of Australia
Superannuation balance benchmarks by age, including retirement adequacy standards and median balance data.
APRA — Prudential Regulation Authority
Superannuation fund-level statistics, member balance distributions, and contributions data from regulated funds.
RBA — Reserve Bank of Australia
Household savings rates, financial assets, and wealth distribution data from the Survey of Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA).
Age Bands

How age groups are structured

We group Australians into age bands that align with the published ABS and ASFA data releases. These bands reflect meaningful life stages where financial behaviour and expectations differ significantly.

Age Band Life Stage Key Financial Focus
18–24 Early career / education First income, entry-level savings, minimal super
25–29 Establishing career Growing income, rental or first home saving, early investments
30–34 Career growth Mortgage, family formation, accelerating wealth building
35–39 Prime earning years begin Asset accumulation, debt reduction, super growth
40–44 Peak earning Net worth growth, investment diversification
45–54 Wealth consolidation Retirement planning, property equity, portfolio maturity
55–64 Pre-retirement Super drawdown planning, debt clearance, income preservation

Each band uses its own set of benchmark figures. Comparing yourself to the wrong age group would produce misleading results, so we ask for your age and use it to select the correct reference data.

Percentile Rankings

How we calculate your percentile

A percentile rank tells you what percentage of Australians in your age group you are ahead of. If you're at the 70th percentile for income, it means 70% of Australians your age earn less than you, and 30% earn more.

We map each of your figures (income, savings, super, investments, net worth) against the published percentile distribution for your age band. Because the ABS and ASFA data provide percentile breakpoints (not continuous distributions), we use linear interpolation between published data points to estimate your exact percentile rank.

For example, if the published data shows that the 50th percentile income for your age group is $70,000 and the 75th percentile is $95,000, and you earn $82,500, we estimate your percentile at approximately 60th — proportionally between those two anchors.

This is a well-established statistical approach used in academic and policy research when working with published distribution summaries rather than raw microdata.

Limitations

What the benchmarks don't capture

Our benchmarks are approximations based on published averages and distributions. There are important limitations to keep in mind:

Geographic variation: Financial outcomes differ significantly between Sydney, Melbourne, regional areas and rural Australia. Our benchmarks reflect national averages and may not represent your local market.

Household vs individual: Some ABS data is collected at the household level, while our tool compares individuals. We adjust where possible, but this introduces approximation.

Data lag: Published survey data is typically 12–24 months behind the current date. We update benchmarks when new releases are available but they may not reflect very recent changes (e.g., rapid house price movements or super rule changes).

High-income tail: Published percentile data often under-represents the very top of the income and wealth distribution. If you're above the 95th percentile, our estimates become less precise.

⚠️ Important: Percentile rankings are a guide for self-reflection only. They are not personalised financial advice. Your individual circumstances — cost of living, dependants, health, career stage, goals — matter far more than where you sit on a distribution curve. Always consult a licensed financial adviser before making significant financial decisions.

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