How to find lost super

If you’ve ever switched jobs, lived overseas, or changed your name or address during your working life, you may have lost track of some of your superannuation along the way. Here are a list of steps you could consider to help you find and recover any lost super you may have.

Below are more details on each of these processes.

1. Ask your super fund to search for you

If you have a preferred super fund, you can request that it searches for lost super on your behalf. Typically, this would involve logging in to your super fund’s online portal and searching for information on ‘consolidating super’, and following the steps. You may have to verify your identity and provide consent, such as to use your Tax File Number as part of the search.

However, it’s important to find out if the fund automatically puts the super amounts they find into your active account (ie: consolidates your super). You may want to check out the performance, fees and other features of the other super funds, to see how they compare to your active super fund, before you decide to consolidate. If you think this could be the case, it might be wise to investigate other ways of finding your super, and then working out a plan to consolidate it.

2. Searching online via myGov

If you have a myGov account linked to the ATO, the ATO says you can log into it and click ‘Manage my super’ to search for lost super money.

If you have your tax file number (TFN) ready, you can also use this ‘Manage my super’ function in myGov to search the ATO’s USM register for any unclaimed super it may be holding for you. The ATO provides more details on how myGov’s online services work, along with instructions on setting up a myGov account if you don’t have one already.

3. Calling the lost super search line

Another option to track down your lost or unclaimed super is to call the ATO’s automated ‘lost super search line’ on 13 28 65.

If you do so, the ATO says you will need to be ready to provide some or all of the following personal information on request:

• your personal details
  • tax file number (TFN)
  • name
  • date of birth
  • visa holder status (if applicable)
• your contact details
  • current postal address
  • daytime phone number
  • email address (if applicable)
• your super fund details – any super fund where contributions may have been made on your behalf
  • super fund name
  • account number
  • beneficiaries
  • period of contributions
• your previous details
  • name
  • address
  • employment (if applicable)

4. Filling out a paper form

A third option is to download, print and fill out a paper form from the ATO, then mail it back to the tax office. The ATO provides a link to this form on its website, and you can fill it out either on your computer or with a pen.

The ATO’s postal address that you will need to send the form to is listed at the base of the form itself.

Recovering your lost or unclaimed super

Whichever method of finding your super you choose, if you decide to recover it you can choose whether to consolidate it into another active account of yours, or withdraw it if you have met a condition of release.

Each of these options has some potential advantages and disadvantages. For example, withdrawing your super could help with your day-to-day cashflow needs, but could reduce your retirement nest egg.

Further Information About Finding Lost Super: 

What is lost superannuation?

According to the ATO, your super fund will report you as a ‘lost member’ if any of the following situations apply:

• They have not been able to contact you
• They have not received any contributions or rollover amounts for you in the past five years
• Your account was transferred from another fund as a lost member account and no new address has been found.

The ATO stresses that it is technically super members who can become ‘lost’ under Australia’s super laws, not their accounts or the money in them. This means, for example, that if a member confirms their address or tells the fund they want to continue being a member, then they generally wouldn’t be considered lost, even if they’re no longer paying money into the account.

The legislation also excludes self-managed super fund (SMSF) members from being considered lost, the ATO notes.

The money in a lost member’s super account is generally held by their super fund until they claim it, unless it totals less than $6,000. In that case, the fund typically must pay the balance of these ‘small lost member accounts’ to the ATO instead, and the money is considered ‘unclaimed’ rather than lost. There are also a range of other conditions under which the fund would transfer super to the ATO.

What is unclaimed superannuation?

Unclaimed super is different to lost super in that the person it belongs to isn’t necessarily inactive or uncontactable, and that it sits with the ATO rather than with individual super funds. Funds generally have to report and pay unclaimed super money to the ATO twice a year. The ATO then adds the money to its Unclaimed Super Money (USM) register, and holds onto it until its owner claims it.

According to the Association of Super Funds of Australia’s Super Guru website, unclaimed super can include super belonging to:

• members aged over 65
• non-member spouses (where a person’s super has been split following breakdown of their marriage or de facto relationship)
• deceased members
• former temporary residents
• lost members with ‘small’ account balances of less than $6,000
• lost members with ‘insoluble’ accounts, meaning their super fund didn’t have enough information about them to verify they were entitled to the money.

The good news is that unclaimed and lost super is still considered to be owned by the member it belongs to, and it may be easier than you think to claim it.

On the other hand, consolidating your super can mean you avoid paying multiple sets of fees and insurance premiums, but if your lost super is still tied to a super fund and has insurance associated with it, you may want to consider whether you still need this insurance.

How does super get lost or go unclaimed?

There are many reasons that super becomes ‘lost’ and goes unclaimed. Examples include:

Changed jobs before 2021: Rules introduced in 2021 mean that your active super fund is ‘stapled’ to you and a new employer must pay super into that account. However, if you changed jobs before 2021, you needed to tell your employer what super fund you wanted to be in, or if you wanted to go with the employers default fund. The ‘stapled super‘ rules are designed to prevent people from having multiple super accounts, thereby decreasing the risk of losing track of super.

Super fund can’t find you: People might also have lost track of their super. For example, they may not have updated their contact details with their super fund (or funds) when they moved house or changed their name.

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Choosing a superannuation account

Want to consolidate all your lost super but are unsure which fund to choose? You can get an idea of some of the factors to consider when comparing superannuation accounts in our article about this topic: How to choose a super fund.

It’s worth noting that consolidating super funds is beneficial for many people but isn’t right for everyone, so the pros and cons should be carefully weighed up.

When looking for a suitable fund, there are many factors to consider, such as the fees charged, whether the insurance offering is suitable for you and the education and advice available. Past performance is an important consideration because it gives an indication of what a fund has been capable of delivering in the past through varied market conditions.

However, investments can go up and down, so past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Cover image source: Viktor1/Shutterstock.com

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