$17.8 billion unclaimed super – is some of it yours?

Recent data from the ATO shows that as of June 2024, there was just under $17.8 billion in lost and unclaimed super amounts held by super funds or the ATO.

While the ATO has been able to reunite almost $6.4 billion in unclaimed super with its owners since 2021, Deputy Commissioner Emma Rosenzweig has urged Australians to check if some of the $17.8 billion belongs to them, stating “we want to make sure Australians are claiming the investment they’ve worked for”. She further said that even those who have retired could have lost or unclaimed super, with the ATO holding $471 million on behalf of people aged over 65.

What is lost or unclaimed super? “Lost super” is money held by a super fund where: the member has either become uncontactable (eg by changing their name, address or job and not notifying the super fund of the change), and either the account hasn’t had a contribution or rollover in 12 months, or the account balance is less than $6,000; or the account is inactive; that is, there hasn’t been a contribution or rollover in 5 years.

“Unclaimed super” is super that a fund is required to transfer to the ATO under certain circumstances. It can include: lost super; super belonging to uncontactable members aged 65 or older; super belonging to deceased members, where the fund is unable to ensure that the benefit is received by the person entitled to receive it; super belonging to former temporary residents; and inactive small balance accounts (containing less than $6,000 and inactive for 16 months or more).

Unclaimed super is held by the ATO until it can be claimed, rolled over or paid out.

Do you have lost super?

So how do you go about finding out if any of the lost or unclaimed super belongs to you?

If you have a myGov account linked to the ATO, you can access ATO online services (or the ATO App) and select Super. All of your super accounts, including any lost super or unclaimed (ATO-held) super, should be displayed under Fund Details. If you find that you do have lost super, you can contact the relevant super fund to update your details if you want to keep that fund, transfer lost super to an eligible super account (or get your fund to do it for you), or even withdraw super if you are over 65 or the amount is less than $200.

If you think you might have lost super, but it is not appearing online, you could try contacting your former employer or previous super fund to check their records. The ATO’s Super Health Check provides instructions for finding lost super, consolidating accounts and preventing further lost super through myGov.

If you do not have, or are unable to register for, a myGov account, you can also search for any lost super by: phoning the ATO lost super search line on 13 28 65: have your personal information, current and former contact details, and any super fund details ready to provide on request; completing a paper form: you can download form NAT 2476 from the ATO website, fill it in and mail the form to the ATO; or contacting your super fund: you can ask your super fund to do a search for lost super on your behalf.

Some super funds have tools that can help you find lost super.