The average Australian has four super accounts. Many of us own accounts we don’t even know exist.
Multiple accounts means multiple fees. The longer you wait they more fees you would pay.
Your superannuation is your retirement savings, so it’s very important to know what accounts you have and how much money is in them.
If you have ever changed your name, address, job, or done casual or part-time work, you may have lost track of some of your superannuation.
You can Individuals – Superannuation by registering for the Australian Taxation Office’s online services via myGov. This gives you access to –
- Find details of all your superannuation accounts, including any you may have forgotten or lost
- Find Australian Taxation Office held superannuation. This is money held on your behalf when your superannuation fund, your employer or the government couldn’t find an account to deposit your money into
- Allow you to consolidate your superannuation into a single fund
If you have recently started a new superannuation account, it can take up to 6 months to show on your MyGov account. You can still consolidate your superannuation accounts by ATO – Self Managed Super Funds for each account you want to transfer from, and mailing it to your new fund. See consolidating superannuation funds for more information.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) may also be able to help you with your superannuation accounts. For more information visit: Individuals – Superannuation and (ASIC) MoneySmart website.
If you don’t have the time or resources to conduct your own search for ‘unclaimed monies or assets’, there are businesses that provide a service to find any lost or forgotten money and assets of a deceased person. They usually charge a percentage fee on any monies found – so be sure to establish this percentage figure before entering into any agreements.
They will conduct searches of all major Australian banks, superannuation accounts, share registries etc on your behalf.
