What Is Unclaimed Super?

By Author: Belinda Darling
Total Articles: 152
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What is unclaimed super? Some people confuse the term ‘Lost Super’ with ‘Unclaimed Super’ though they mean slightly different things.

It’s been estimated that as many as one in three Australians will lose contact with their super fund at one point or another. This most often happens when you change jobs, names, or addresses. You may not realise that you need to notify your super fund of these changes and provide proof of the change. If you don’t, your fund’s records will not be up-to-date and they may lose track of you.

If you first joined the fund through your employer and your super fund account has not received any contributions or rollovers in five years your account will be considered ‘inactive’. Also, if mail sent to you by your fund has been returned to them, the super fund will consider you un-contactable. Either of these things happening will make you a ‘lost member’.

Once a person reaches age 65, they are eligible to claim their super. If you reach 65 and the fund does not receive any further contributions or transfers within 2 years or the super fund is unable to contact ...
... you for five years, the money is consideredunclaimed super.

The Australian government passed law in 2009 that allows the government to claim lost money in super fund accounts. If yoursuper fund transfers your lost super, you’ll have to contact the government to retrieve your money.

There are tools available to people with lost super and unclaimed super. One of the best and most commonly used is the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) SuperSeeker tool. With your full name(s), your tax file number (TFN), and date of birth, you can search through multiple databases for any lost and unclaimed super that may be waiting for you to reclaim. The service is free and available online, or over the phone.

Beware of salespeople who call you from any company offering to reclaim your lost or unclaimed super for you. While the service may be legitimate, they are likely to charge service fees. Even if you decide to use such a service, it is best to verify the identity of the caller and the existence and reputation of the company before signing anything. These companies will typically require you to sign an authorisation form that nominates someone from the company to act as your agent and recover the money. You will also sign a form from the relevantOffice of State Revenue (OSR) which is the government agency that used to collect lost super until 1 July 2007. Always keep in mind that you can do the paperwork with OSR by yourself for free. The process is simple enough to not require the expensive services of a fund recovery company. As these are State based, if you have moved interstate remember to contact your old State Office.

These are some last ditch attempts to get you in touch with your lost and unclaimed super. This process will be much simpler if you can remember or have records of the names of your old super accounts where you suspect you have unclaimed super. You can get in touch with that old super fund or contact your most recent one - some super funds are more than happy to chase up your old super for you. Regardless of the means, your super is your hard-earned retirement money: do all you can to retrieve it.

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