Finding lost super



With new laws recently introduced that allow the federal government to consolidate inactive superannuation into revenue, it is more important than ever to track down your lost super.

 

Hundreds of thousands of idle superannuation funds are currently being handed over to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as changes take effect that allow the ATO to collect balances on inactive accounts of up to $2,000.

In this case, “inactive” refers to funds that have not received contributions for 12 months or more.

There are currently around 1.1 million accounts that fall into this category and which will be handed over to the ATO if they are not claimed or do not have contributions paid into them by May 31.

But consolidating your super is not just important if you have an account that has been left inactive; if you have more than one super account, you could be losing hard earned cash spent on annual maintenance fees.

Australians pay on average $2,000 in super fees each year, and depending on the size and number of the accounts you have, this could significantly reduce your retirement savings in just a few short years.

There are many resources available online to help you track down any ‘lost’ super accounts. The ATO’s SuperSeeker tool is a great place to start – it helps you track multiple superannuation accounts including those that may be lost or inactive.

The tool can even assist in transferring these multiple accounts into one consolidated account.

If you have a preferred superannuation fund they should also be able to assist you in locating lost or inactive super and transferring these into your main account.

Your superannuation is a crucial part of your retirement, and managing your investment is important to ensuring you build yourself a nice little nest egg.

Take the time to get your accounts in order and set goals for where you want your fund to be in the future.

Finding lost super
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