74% of Australians don’t realize you could be severely reducing your quality of life in retirement in your retirement by not finding their lost super. You may have worked for many different employers in a life time, and your retirement savings could be spread over any number of different super funds which all charge management fees on your hard earned savings. This can severely reduce your quality of life in retirement and impair your ability to remain independent of your friends and family or social security. The Australian Tax Office estimates that there is over $9.7 billion in unclaimed superannuation in Australia. Super often gets lost when people change jobs or move houses or change names and they don’t notify their superfund of the change, but when you move your super into one account, you will pay just one set of fees and charges for management of the fund and greatly simplify the management of the funds increasing your access to funds and quality of life in your retirement.

So how can I find out if I have lost super?

The Australian Government keeps a register of superannuation accounts where the owner is unknown. The register includes details of lost members superannuation funds, approved deposit funds, eligible rollover funds and retirement savings account providers. You may be listed on the register if your super provider has been unable to contact you because they don’t have you address or your mail has been returned. If your super provider has not received contributions from you or rollover amounts for you in the past five years, then you may also be on the register. Also, if your account was transferred to your fund from another super provider that reported you as a lost member, then you will have been placed on the government’s register.

How does the government determine the status of ‘unclaimed super’?

According to the law and Australian government policy, an amount payable to a member of a fund is taken to be unclaimed super if:

• The member has reached the eligibility age (currently 65); and
• The superannuation provider has not received an amount in respect of the member (and in the case of a defined benefits superannuation scheme, no benefit has accrued in respect of the member) for at least 2 years; and
• After the end of a period of 5 years since the superannuation provider last had contact with the member, the provider has been unable to contact the member again after making reasonable efforts.

An amount payable in respect of a member of a fund is also taken to be unclaimed super if:

• The member has died; and
• The superannuation provider determines that, under the governing rules of the fund or by operation of law, a benefit (other than a pension or annuity) is immediately payable in respect of the member; and
• The superannuation provider has not received an amount in respect of the member (and, in the case of a defined benefits superannuation scheme, no benefit has accrued in respect of the member) for at least 2 years; and

All superannuation fund providers are required to make reasonable efforts to find the beneficiary of unclaimed super and after a reasonable period has passed, if the superannuation provider is unable to ensure that the benefit is received by the person who is entitled to receive the benefit then the money is held by the public trustee until a rightful owner is identified.

How do I find my lost super?

The ‘Super Seeker’ on the Australian Taxation Office website can help you track down your lost super. ‘Superseeker’ searches the Lost Members Register and other Tax Office records to find possible matches for your lost super. You will need to provide your name, date of birth and tax file number. It is relatively easy to find out if you have lost superannuation. The ‘Superseeker’ tool can be accessed can be accessed using the Super Seeker website, just by taking these simple steps, all you need to do is take these simple steps:

1. Go to the Australian Taxation Office ‘Superseeker’ website at:
2. Enter your details and follow the steps on the site.
3. If you have lost super, print off the form, sign it, date it and return it to the super fund manager of the account where you want to have your super fund consolidated to.

You can also access your lost superannuation by calling 13 28 65 within Australia and following the telephone prompts. Alternatively, you can access it by downloading the ‘Searching for lost super form’ (NAT 2476), completing it and mailing it to the address stated on the form. The ‘Superseeker’ tool is free and available for access 24 hours per day, seven days a week.

So I found my lost Super, what next?

If ‘Superseeker’ finds a possible match, it will provide you with the name and contact details of the super provider that may have your lost super. This allows you to contact the fund and give them the contact details to talk about what to do with your lost super. If you wish to transfer the whole balance of you lost superannuation account you can use the portability form found at this website:

Request to transfer whole balance of superannuation benefits between funds.

If it turns out that the amount of super available to you is less than $200, you may be able to remove it tax free, an ever greater bonus!

How can I keep track of my super?

Even if you have no lost super, it is a good idea to make sure that you don’t lose any of the super which you are entitled to or become exposed to a number of management fees which will reduce your retirement savings drastically. If you give your super fund or Retirement Savings Provider your tax file number, it is much easier to keep track of your super. You can check whether your fund has your Tax File Number by looking at your member statement. If your Tax File Number is not listed on your statement, contact your fund. If your fund does not have your Tax file Number:

• Your super may be taxed an additional 31.5%
• Tour fund won’t be able to accept personal contributions from you, and
• You may miss out on any super co-contributions you may be eligible for.

What are you waiting for?

Its time to get your super into order. You could be missing out on thousands of dollars in retirement savings all because of a few simple administrative issues. Take the steps to find your lost super and get your current super accounts in order.