Billions up for grabs - it's a super bonanza!

Wilson Luna Would $18.8 billion make life a bit easier? Okay, so it might not all be yours, but there’s a good chance some of it is! Read on to discover how to find out if any of Australia’s lost superannuation belongs to you …

When you lose something that’s important to you, you do what you can to find it, right? If you lose your keys, you check under the couch cushions; if you lose your dog, you go and look for him; if you lose your wallet, you go to the police. But what about your super? According to latest figures, Australians have ‘lost’ almost $19 billion in super … and when it comes to having the lifestyle you want in retirement, a healthy superannuation balance is critical.

New findings reveal that a ‘comfortable’ retirement will cost more than $500,000 to fund, and many Aussies are now looking at alarmingly low super balances and an uncertain future. But when you take a closer look, the situation could be even worse: these projections are based on the idea that a ‘comfortable’ retirement consists of an annual income of just over $37,000 and that you’ll only live to the age of 90. So the question you need to ask yourself is whether that income will provide you with the kind of retirement lifestyle you’ve dreamed of … the lifestyle you’ve spent your whole life working toward.

If your answer to that question is ‘no’, then you need to do something to bulk up your super – and there are some great ways to do this. Salary sacrifice (don’t let the name put you off – the biggest ‘sacrifice’ for most people is not having to pay as much tax!), personal contributions (and the government co-contributions that could accompany them), and even spousal contributions (if you and your partner qualify) are all great ways to increase your super balance.

But perhaps the easiest and most straightforward way to boost your super balance is by locating lost superannuation – and according to recent research, there’s plenty of it out there! Westpac research has discovered $18.8 billion in super lying idle in over 5.8 million lost super accounts. It also revealed that over 46 per cent of Australians could have lost super waiting for them to claim it … are you one of them?
 
Finding lost superannuation is quick and easy … and once you know where all your super is, you can consolidate it all in one account and really put it to work! That way, when you retire you can live a life YOU think is comfortable, instead of the more frugal version put forward by projections.

Finding lost super and putting it to work for you is as simple as 1,2,3:

1.    Find it
If you've ever changed jobs, names or moved house without notifying your super fund you could have lost super waiting for you to find it. All funds are required to report lost members twice a year, and doing a superannuation search on the SuperSeeker website takes literally minutes. All you need is your name, date of birth and tax file number.

2.    Consolidate it
Once you’ve found your super, you need to make sure you don’t let it escape again! Roll all of your super accounts into one fund to minimise fees and charges so you can make sure your money is working as hard as it can for you.

3.    Manage it
Your superannuation is your future, so you need to be proactive about how it’s invested, even if it’s in a managed fund. Keep an eye on what your super is doing, where it’s invested and what fees and charges you’re paying – there’s nothing worse than leaving things to chance and ending up with a nasty surprise when you want to retire!

Having enough super is vital to living a secure, comfortable lifestyle in retirement, and while most of us would hunt for a $50 note if it fell out of our wallets, it’s clear that many of us are letting far more than that go to waste in lost super!

One problem is that many of us forget that our superannuation is our money. It’s time we all track down our unclaimed super and make sure it’s working hard for us. So check out the SuperSeeker site to see if you have any ‘free’ money waiting for you to find it!

Author's Biography

Wilson Luna is an author, wealth adviser and founder of Your Family Your Money. Your Family Your Money’s goal is to simplify traditionally complex financial strategies, demystify financial jargon and debunk common financial myths, becoming every family’s first stop for financial advice, information and inspiration.