Your super is your retirement savings, so it’s important to know if you have any lost super accounts you have and how much is in them.
According to the ATO, there is $17.5 billion in lost and unclaimed super across Australia. Find your state and postcode in ATO’s article; then log into your myGov account to make sure none of it is yours.
If you want more money to spend in the future, you need to keep track of your super today. Finding lost super and bringing it all together will save money on fees and make your super easier to manage.
How to search for lost super
Have you kept track of all your super? If you’ve ever changed your name, address, job, worked in casual or part-time work – you may have lost track of some of your super.
You can check your super by registering for the Australian Taxation Office’s online services via myGov. This will allow you to:
- see details of all your super accounts, including any you may have lost or forgotten about.
- find ATO-held super, held on your behalf when your super fund, your employer or the government couldn’t find an account to deposit your super to.
- consolidate your super into a single fund.
If you have recently opened a super account, it may take up to 6 months to appear on your MyGov account.
How does super go missing?
You may be wondering, “how can super go missing?”
People often lose track of super when they change jobs, as they might opt for their employer to put contributions into a new fund and forget to carry over what they accumulated in their previous one. This is when super accounts start to multiply.
Another factor is the possibility of your address and phone number may change over time, and you might forget to update your contact details with your providers, so your previous super fund or funds can lose track of you.
The difference between lost and unclaimed super
What is unclaimed super?
The ATO may be holding some unclaimed super for you. Unclaimed super is created when super funds transfer the balance of small, inactive accounts to the ATO, which then holds it on your behalf. To be considered inactive, an account must not have received a contribution for at least 12 months.
Twice a year, super funds must report and pay the following unclaimed super money to the ATO:
- Unclaimed super for a member 65 years or older, a non-member spouse or a deceased member
- Unclaimed super of former temporary residents
- Lost member accounts with balances of less than $6,000
- Lost member accounts which have been inactive for at least five years and which do not have enough records to ever be able to identify the account owner
What is lost super?
Your super fund will hold onto your super money, but report you as a lost member to the ATO if any of the following apply:
- you’re unreachable
- If your superfund hasn’t received any contributions or rollovers into your account in the last five years
- your account has been transferred by another super fund as a lost member account, but no contact details for you can be located
Want us to do the legwork?
We can also do your Super Search for free – click HERE and follow the instructions. This search includes active, lost, and ATO-held (unclaimed) super accounts.
