News and Media

Where's the money?

Australians have an average of three super accounts each, and 50% have inactive accounts, giving them a share in over $13 billion currently held by the government as lost or unclaimed super.

Finding unclaimed super is easy, but consolidating accounts can be a complete pain.

To find lost super: visit www.unclaimedsuper.com.au and enter your name and date of birth. If there’s a match go to www.superseeker.super.ato.gov.au and enter your name, birth date and tax file number to retrieve your account details. Then make a claim online, over the phone of via the post.

To consolodate accounts: check there are no rollover or withdrawal fees. Decide which fund to roll the money into. Download a rollover form or have it mailed to you, complete and return it to the fund you want to exit with proof of identity. This can involve a fair bit of paperwork and some funds are tardy when it comes to fulfilling exit requests so there may be some phone calls to make. A shortcut is to visit the local post office to make use of the Australia Post and SuperChoice service ‘Consolidate My Super’.

Source: Your Money Magazine. August 2011, page 81. Where’s the money? Reproduced with permission.