How to find your lost super
Many Australians have multiple superannuation accounts open, leading them to less interest and more fees. If this sounds like you, than it’s definitely worth finding your lost super accounts and consolidating them into one. Taking a bit of time to do this now will ensure you have more money for retirement (and who doesn’t want that?)!
How do we end up with so much lost super?
Employers tend to have their preferred superannuation fund, and often new employees will simply go with that rather than nominating their own. Then, when the employee moves on, the same thing happens again with their new employer, and 20 years down the track they have more than 4 or 5 superannuation accounts… each charging a separate administration fee.
Find and consolidate your super
Your super is considered lost after your superannuation fund hasn’t received regular contributions for over five years, and they have been unable to contact you. You can check and see if you have lost super using the Australia Government’s free lost superannuation search tool.
To conduct a full search of the super that exists in your name, you’ll have to get in touch with the ATO directly.
Once you’ve located your lost super and multiple super accounts, it’s time to consolidate it all into one. You can do this in one of two ways:
- Nominate one of your super providers to handle the transfer(s) on your behalf
- D.I.Y. via the ATO
It may seem like a bit of a hassle to go searching for your super now, but doing so will serve you well in the future.
If you’d like to talk about superannuation or recovering lost super, we’d be happy to help. Get in touch with SWAG Bookkeeping for an obligation-free discussion.
