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Claim your share of Australia's 'lost' super

Your Family Your Money

There's no denying that $12.9 billion is a lot to lose – if that fell down the back of the couch cushions you’d definitely know it was there! According to the Treasury, that’s roughly how much money is lost down the back of Australia’s superannuation ‘sofa’, just waiting to be claimed by its owners. But here’s the thing: you may not even realise that any of this lost super is yours. A super fund can be classified as ‘lost’ if your account is inactive for five years, if the balance drops below $200 or if your super fund can’t find you. So although you might think you know exactly where all your ‘old’ super balances are, they could very well be sitting in the Treasury equivalent of lost property!

It was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald that an estimated 6.4 million super accounts are currently classified as ‘lost’ – that’s one lost account for every two working Australians. Fortunately, you can reclaim your super at any time, and if the amount in your account is less than $200 you can cash it out immediately without paying any tax. If it’s more than $200 you’ll have to roll it into your current superannuation fund until your reach retirement.  According to Jeff Breshnahan from SuperRatings, there’s ‘… arguably a 50 per cent chance of finding some free super ...’ and a bonus like this can make a very nice addition to your retirement nest egg.

You can visit www.ato.gov.au/superseeker to find out if any of your superannuation is classified as ‘lost’ and start working toward reclaiming it. Take the time to jump online and take a look! It’s certainly worth the effort, because finding a big super balance to help build your post-retirement lifestyle is a lot more exciting than finding a two-dollar coin down the back of the couch.

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Tags: retirement financial planning, superannuation, lost super

Author's Biography

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.