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Note: This article may include some superannuation terms which may be unfamiliar to the reader. These terms are hyperlinked in green and are explained in the Key Terms Explained section at the bottom of this article.
There are some 2.7 million, or one in three working Australians, with lost or unclaimed superannuation. In dollars terms, there's some $6.9 billion, or an average of $1,600 per account waiting to be claimed.
You may be administering a deceased estate. Or, for yourself, if you have changed jobs or address, or even changed your name and are not sure if you kept track of all the super which was paid in for you by your employers over the last 11 years, then you might be one of these 2.7 million Australians. If you have always notified your fund whenever you changed job or address, or left work altogether, then you should not be a "lost" member although it never hurts to check.
You may be a "lost" member of a superannuation fund if:
It is mandatory for all superannuation funds to report "lost" members twice a year. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) maintains a Lost Members’ Register (LMR) in order to collect data for this reporting requirement.
There are 2 ways you can search for lost super.
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A Free Service which allows you to search the ATO’s Lost Members’ Register (LMR) as well as the State And Territory Unclaimed Money Registers; or
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A Paid Service where you can pay someone to search all these registers for you, as well as conduct searches with Superannuation funds where you might have been a member
- Your should first contact your current or previous super fund.
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Failing this, you can complete a Lost Members enquiry form which can be downloaded and printed from the ATO website at: www.ato.gov.au/super or by calling the Superannuation Infoline on 13 10 20.
Most superannuation funds have access to SuperMatch, a facility which enables them to search the LMR database on your behalf, as well as search for any unredeemed Superannuation Guarantee Vouchers or Superannuation Holding Accounts Reserve accounts that may belong to you. If you are unable to recall the name of your previous fund and do not have a current fund, you could contact your last employer to ask them for their details.
In any event, it is usually a good idea not to have multiple superannuation funds as each of these will be charging you fees which will be eating into your retirement income. Unless you have a fund which charges a significant penalty for early termination, it is best to consolidate your funds into one. If you would like some guidance in doing this, you can seek professional investment advice.
Over 60 or Administering a Deceased Estate?
Any lost superannuation for members who have died or reached "eligibility" age, that is 60 yrs for a woman and 65 yrs for a man, are generally transferred to the Unclaimed Money Register. Therefore, if you are over the "eligibility" age or administering a deceased estate, you should also check the Unclaimed Money Register for your relevant state or territory as listed below:
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NSW |
Office of State Revenue—Unclaimed Money |
Phone: (02) 9689 6200 Their on-line search and lodgement facility can be found at: http://www.osr.nsw.gov.au |
|
VIC |
State Trustees Limited |
Phone: (03) 9667 6418 Their on-line search and lodgement facility can be found at: http://www.statetrustees.com.au |
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QLD |
Public Trustee of Queensland |
Phone: (07) 3213 9368 |
|
WA |
Unclaimed monies are to be paid to the Commissioner of Taxation |
Phone: 13 10 20 |
|
SA |
Department of Treasury and Finance |
Phone: (08) 8226 3601 |
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TAS |
Department of Treasury and Finance |
Phone: (03) 6233 2948 |
|
ACT |
The Public Trustee for the ACT |
Phone: (02) 6207 9800 Their on-line search and lodgement facility can be found at: http://www.publictrustee.act.gov.au |
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NT |
Northern Territory Treasury |
Phone: (08) 8999 6620 |
For further information, you can call the call the Superannuation Infoline on 13 10 20 or visit the Australian Tax Office website at www.ato.gov.au/super
Postal enquiries should be sent to:
Superannuation Business Line
Australian Taxation Office
PO Box 277
WTC VIC 8005
There is a paid service available where someone will do all this leg work for you for a fee of $75.
In addition to searching the LMR and Unclaimed Monies Funds listed above, they can also contact individual super funds where you might have been a member as well as search Eligible Rollover Funds to which your fund balance may have been transferred.
This service is available at www.findmysuper.com.au
The section contains some definitions for terms used above.
Superannuation Guarantee (SG):
If you have done any paid work since 1st July 1992, your employer would have been bound by the Superannuation Guarantee legislation to pay a certain percentage of your gross salary into an approved retirement savings or superannuation fund. The current minimum contribution as at 01-Jul-2002 which employers need to make for each employee is 9% of their gross earnings.
Therefore, if you have worked since 1st July 1992 and are not sure whether you know the whereabouts of all the superannuation monies paid on your behalf since this period, it is probably worth it for you to check if you have any lost super monies belonging to you.
Superannuation Guarantee Vouchers:
Where employers have failed to pay the minimum Superannuation Guarantee amount to your super fund in a given financial year, they must make up the shortfall by paying a Superannuation Guarantee Charge to the ATO. The ATO may then either transfer that amount into your superannuation fund (if they know your membership details) or they may send the amount to you in the form of a voucher.
Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA):
An RSA is a capital guaranteed account which can be opened at banks, building societies, credit unions, and life insurance companies.
As with super funds, the balance of a RSA can be rolled over to another RSA or super fund, and the taxation and preservation rules which apply to superannuation funds pretty much also apply to RSA’s.
As opposed to most super funds, RSA’s can’t have negative growth as they do not have equity risk and are capital guaranteed by the provider. However, they generally pay a very low rate of return and can be reduced by fees and charges.
Superannuation Holding Accounts Reserve (SHAR):
The SHAR is a superannuation deposit scheme which is administered by the ATO. Deposits have been accepted since 01-Jul-1995. SHAR is designed for small superannuation amounts where the employer is unable to find a superannuation fund or RSA which accepts small amounts, or for late payments when the employer no longer knows the employees fund details. No interest is paid on balances within SHAR.
Deposits into this scheme can later be rolled over to a complying superannuation fund or RSA at the member’s request, or paid directly to the member if "eligible" (see the ATO website www.ato.gov.au/super for the a list of eligibility requirements).
For further information on any of the terms or information on this page, you can call the call the Superannuation Infoline on 13 10 20 or visit the Australian Tax Office website at www.ato.gov.au/super
Postal enquiries should be sent to:
Superannuation Business Line
Australian Taxation Office
PO Box 277
WTC VIC 8005
See also our article on: Finding Lost Money: Bank Accounts, Life Policies, Shares
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