Lost Super in the billions... and rising!

Losing track of superannuation accounts is an easy thing to do. In Australia there is in excess of 6.4 million lost superannuation accounts.

But how did I lose my Super funds?

The most common ways in which a person become separated from their super are when incorrect contact details are supplied, when members move house, change employees or change their names.

Most members can choose who manages their super and most, when they start a new job, join their employer’s default fund without bothering to shift the money out of their old fund into the new fund.

Only accounts deemed to have been lost by their super fund will have been reported to the Tax Office.

Super funds have differening criteria for determining when a member is lost but, generally, an account’s status changes from inactive to lost when the funds statements are returned to the fund and the account holder cannot be contacted.

It is estimated there is an additional $6 billion in lost super yet to be reported to the Tax Office.

If the amount found is less than $200, the account owner does not have to transfer it to a super fund. He or she may be able to access it tax-free.

Finding Your Lost Super with SuperSeeker

The Australian Tax Office provides the free SuperSeeker service to assist in finding your lost Superennuation Funds.

SuperSeeker is a free service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

SuperSeeker

To use SuperSeeker online or by phone you will need to provide your:
Name
Date of Birth, and
Tax File Number (TFN).

Access SuperSeeker...

Online using the SuperSeeker tool,
Or by phoning 13 28 65 and following the prompts.