Huge $1 billion in superannuation sitting with ATO expected to be handed back to Aussies

There’s whopping amount of unclaimed super that you could get your hands on before Christmas. And one postcode is owed a fortune.

There is more than $1 billion in unclaimed superannuation held by the Australian Taxation Office sitting in around 730,000 accounts in Australia.

The ATO works to help reunite individuals with their unclaimed super money and the good news is some of the lost cash could land in pockets by Christmas.

One Sydney postcode, 2170, which covers suburbs including Liverpool, Moorebank and Casula in Sydney’s south west, has more than $81 million sitting in lost and unclaimed super, which is the highest amount for any area this financial year.

Many people may not know they have unclaimed superannuation sitting with the ATO.

“We have had great success reuniting people with their super, including some really large amounts,” an ATO spokesperson told news.com.au.

“For example, we were able to pay out over $200,000 in super to a 78-year-old who was not aware of their unclaimed super.”

There was around $13.9 billion in lost and ATO-held super this year, including unclaimed super money, as at 30 June 2020.

There’s one postcode in Sydney where there’s more than $81 million in lost and unclaimed super.

“This is a large reduction in holdings compared to 30 June 2019 where the value of lost and ATO held super was $20.5 billion,” the spokesperson said.

“This reduction is attributed in part to the Protecting Your Super legislative change that allows the ATO to consolidate super into active super funds on an individual’s behalf or pay amounts directly to the bank account of eligible individuals.”

Australians are encouraged to check if they have unclaimed super sitting with the tax office.

HOW TO GET YOUR LOST SUPER

You can easily search for your lost super, which the ATO encourages everyone to do.

The information is free and easily accessible.

There are three ways you can search for lost super:

• through ATO online using myGov

• by phoning the lost super search line 13 28 65

• by completing a paper form

Having several super accounts could mean you’re paying multiple fees and charges, which may reduce your overall retirement income, the spokesperson explained.

“Before consolidating your accounts, you may want to consider any impacts closing accounts may have on any insurance you may have in your super accounts,” he said.

There’s around $1 billion in unclaimed superannuation held by the ATO owed to around 730,000 accounts.

Super funds are required to transfer lost and unclaimed super to the ATO for a number of reasons, such as if your super fund has lost contact with you due to a change of contact details or if your account has a low balance.

“Where eligibility criteria are met, we will proactively reunite unclaimed super money we hold for you into one of your active super accounts,” the spokesperson explained.

“For amounts below $200, or clients who are 65 years and over, we will pay directly to your bank account if we have it.”

There was around $13.9 billion in lost and ATO held super this year, including unclaimed super money, as at 30 June 2020.

Superannuation funds generally report and pay unclaimed super money to the ATO twice per year.

“Our systems operate continually, throughout the year, to proactively consolidate those moneys into an active account for an individual where we have sufficient information to do so and in accordance with the relevant laws,” he said.

“While we continue our reuniting activities throughout the year, we see a high number of accounts reunited in April/May and October/November of each year immediately following the super fund reporting periods.”

From July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2019, 2.6 million accounts to the value of $15 billion were consolidated by fund members using ATO online services.

More information can be found at the ATO government website.