Claim back your slice of $18 billion in superannuation waiting to be reunited with its owners

AUSTRALIANS have a giant $18 billion in lost and unclaimed super waiting to be clawed back. This is how you get your money back.

AUSTRALIANS have a whopping $18 billion retirement savings in lost or unclaimed superannuation that’s waiting to be clawed back by its rightful owners.

New figures released today (THURS) by the Australian Taxation Office has revealed as of June 30 this year, super funds held a massive $14.12 billion in lost super money and the ATO held another $3.75 billion of unclaimed super.

Australians are being urged to check to see if they have lost or unclaimed superannuation money.

Lost super is accounts held by funds where they have lost contact with the member.

Unclaimed super is when lost money is transferred from funds to the ATO after the fund has been unsuccessful in contacting the member and has not received contributions from them for five years.

RETIREMENT: Younger Australians can watch their super grow quicker

The ATO and funds have been working hard to reunite members with their funds, uniting 1.68 million accounts with balances totalling $8.12 billion in the past four financial years.

But the ATO’s assistant commissioner, Debbie Rawlings, said more people needed to take action to claim back their own money.

“These figures show there are many people who still may not realise how quickly and easily they can check their super accounts,’’ she said.

“You might choose to keep multiple accounts but if you consolidate your multiple super accounts into the one you prefer you’ll avoid paying multiple sets of fees and charges.”

Australians could be missing out of large chunks of their super money which will impact their retirement.

NSW is the worst-offending state with the biggest pool of lost and unclaimed money, totalling than $5 billion, ahead of Victoria with $3.6 billion.

And of the lingering money more than half the amount of lost super held by funds belongs to members who are aged 40 to 55.

PAYMENTS: Pay at the checkout with a card, cash or your wallet

The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees chief executive officer Eva Scheerlinck urged people to hunt down their missing super because “every dollar counts in superannuation.”

“Setting up a profile on the myGov online portal is the best way to find out if you have multiple accounts and search for any lost super,’’ she said.

“You can then look to consolidate these accounts which will save you money in fees and make it easier to keep track of your balance.”

You can choose to claim or transfer your super online, otherwise ring the ATO hotline on 13 10 20.

[e-mail]

@sophieelsworth

Location Lost & unclaimed account numbers Total value

ACT	48,842	$296 million
NSW	1.019 million	$5 billion
NT	52,443	$219 million
Qld	789,768	$3.1 billion
SA	169,276	$923 million
Tasmania	46,479	$216 million
Vic	692,975	$3.6 billion
WA	418,472	$1.9 billion

Source: ATO. Note: The amount total will not equal exactly $18 billion due to some accounts not having their postcodes provided.