How to find lost super: On the hunt

–Updated 18 September 2016–

Losing things is an unfortunate inevitability in life.

It might be the keys you left in your trouser pocket without realising. It might be some coins that slid down the side of the couch, never to be seen again.

Or, it could be a super account, where Australian's seem to misplace a lot of money.

Here's how to find lost super.

How do you lose a super account?

You might not realise, but you could have more than one super account. For most of us, your employer is legally required to pay a percentage of your salary to a superannuation account. Importantly, every time you start a new job, whether that be a casual position at your local supermarket or your dream job, if you do not tell your employer the details of your preferred super account, they will set up one up for you.

The more jobs you have had, the more chance you have multiple super accounts.

So you may have lost touch with all your super accounts, but this does not mean that your super is ‘lost'. By definition, a ‘lost' super account is where your superannuation provider has transferred your Super account to the ATO.

Your super account will be transferred to the ATO where:

• Your account is deemed uncontactable: These are accounts where your super fund provider has not received any contributions or rollovers in the last 12 months, your account balance is less than $4,000 (up to $6,000 from 1 January 2017) and they do not have a valid address for you
• Your account is inactive: These are accounts where your super fund provider has not received any contributions or rollovers in the last five years, and with an account balance of less than $4,000 (up to $6,000 from 1 January 2017)
• Your account is unidentifiable: These are accounts where your super fund provider has not received any contributions or rollovers in the last 12 months and they do not have sufficient information to ever identify the owner of the account
• Your account is deemed as unclaimed: This is where you are over 65 years of age and your super fund provider has not received any contributions or rollovers in the last two years, and it has been a period of five years since they last had contact with you

Find lost super

Whether you have lost track of your super, or your super is ‘lost', the ATO has made it easy to find your Super and have it moved to your account of choice.

Keep track of your Super through MyGov, where you can see details of all your super accounts, find lost super held by super funds that you can rollover into a super account of your choice, find ATO-held super and combine multiple super accounts by transferring your super into your preferred super account. Remember to check any insurances you hold in different super accounts before consolidating. More information can be found on the ATO page, Keeping track of your super.

The best way to find your super is to not lose it in the first place, however. If you have more than one account, it might be worth thinking about consolidating everything into one fund of your choice. Visit Understanding Super on the Virgin Money Super website for more useful information on building and tracking your super.

How many super accounts do you have?