Chances are, if you’ve ever changed your job, name or address, you may have some lost or unclaimed super waiting to be found. The good news is, there are several ways you can track down your lost accounts to ensure this money is put back where you want it and can contribute towards your retirement nest egg. The sooner you look for it, the greater the benefits. And the more up-to-date you keep your contact details with your fund, the less likely you are to ‘lose’ your money.
How does super get lost?
Often when people change jobs, they also change their super fund. If you’ve had a number of different jobs or work casually, there’s a good chance you have several different superannuation accounts. This is usually where people lose track of their super, especially if you change employer and haven’t updated your details with your super fund/s.
There are a few situations where your fund may deem you to be a ‘lost’ member:
- If mail from your super fund is returned unclaimed twice, and no other correspondence has occurred between you and the fund.
- If no contributions are made to your fund for several years.
- At the discretion of the trustee.
If you provide your tax file number to your super fund when you join, this will make sure you aren’t over-taxed and your account is less likely to ever end up lost.
What happens to lost super
When you become a lost member, your fund is required to report your details to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to be placed on the Lost Members Register (LMR). The money does not go to the ATO, just your details. The exception is lost accounts with balances under $200; since 1 July 2010, these are required to be transferred to the ATO who will hold on to the money until it is claimed.
Alternatively, your super fund might simply keep your account open until you contact them to claim the money, or it may roll your account into an eligible rollover fund (ERF).
To ensure your money remains safe, even if you lose contact with your fund, accounts for lost members under retirement age and with an account balance of less than $1,000 are generally protected from being eroded away by account keeping fees.
Your superannuation fund will list contact details for its chosen ERF in the annual report that it sends to you so that you can keep track of your benefit and contact the ERF if necessary. The annual report should also be available on the fund’s website.
Find your lost super
A good starting point for tracking down your lost super is the ATO. The ATO runs a free service called SuperSeeker which runs a search for your lost and unclaimed super and presents a list of possible matches. The ATO can run the search for you either online, over the phone, or by post. It only takes a few minutes and all you need to run a search is your name, tax file number, and date of birth.
SuperSeeker searches the LMR as well as the ATO’s other records including the superannuation holding accounts (SHA) special account and unclaimed super register.
The LMR holds lost member records from all regulated super funds in Australia, except self-managed super funds. Super funds are required to provide updated information to the ATO twice a year; in April and October.
Many super funds now offer their own in-house services for tracking down your lost super if you are looking to consolidate your super. Most are free and they will complete all the paperwork for you so it may be a good idea to contact your fund to see what they can do for you.
The ATO also provides a second online service called SuperMatch, which is only available to super funds. If you’re a member of a fund that you’d like stay with, you can ask them to check SuperMatch and transfer in any discovered lost accounts.
Unclaimed super
Unclaimed super is different to lost super. This is money eligible to be withdrawn from your super fund, but the super fund is unable to contact you. Unclaimed super can include that of a:
- Member aged over 65
- Non-member spouse
- Deceased member
- Former temporary resident
- Member with a small or insoluble lost member account
Unclaimed super is also required to be reported to the ATO by super funds twice a year, and any unclaimed super money is paid to the ATO. Some state and territory public service super schemes may have to pay any unclaimed superannuation money to their State or Territory Government, but still report the money as unclaimed to the ATO. The ATO then adds this data to its Superannuation Unclaimed Money Register.
SuperSeeker can also help you lodge a request online with your fund if you decide you want to transfer this lost super into another super account.
How do I find contact details for my fund?
Superannuation funds, like other businesses, may change their name or merge with another fund. Sometimes they cease business altogether, but only after transferring all of their members and members' benefits to another superannuation fund or an eligible rollover fund.
If you are trying to locate a superannuation fund, try the following steps:
- Search the Super Fund Lookup
If the fund is listed, the register will contain a postal address for the fund.
If the fund is not listed on Super Fund Lookup then one of the following is likely to have occurred:
- The fund has changed its name.
- The fund does not have an ABN.
- The name you are looking for is not the registered name of the fund. (It may be the name of the fund administrator or a non-registered trading name)
- The fund has ceased business and transferred its members to other funds.
- If you know the name of the employer that paid the money to the fund, talk to them. If they are still paying to the same fund then they will have current contact details and will also be able to tell you if the fund has changed its name.
- Try an Internet search for the name using a popular search engine such as Google or Sensis. This may lead you to news articles about the fund that might explain what has happened to it and might also give you more leads to follow up.
As a last resort
If you still can't find the fund but you are certain the fund name is correct then write to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA, GPO Box 9836, Sydney NSW 2001) and ask them to find the contact details from the fund's most recent regulatory return. If the fund has ceased to exist, APRA will be able to provide you with information about where the benefits were transferred. Please be aware that APRA cannot provide this information over the phone as the necessary records are held in their archives.
Always keep the documents sent to you by your superannuation fund, and always tell your superannuation fund when you have changed your address. This will ensure that you have the fund's current contact details and that you will receive an annual statement from the fund.
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