Lost and unclaimed Superannuation a guide to recover it.
It is important to make the most of your superannuation while you are still working. Sometimes you might worry that superannuation contributions you have made have been lost. Maybe you have changed funds or any number of situations that make you uneasy on how your superannuation fund is being dealt with.
These are good concerns to have. When you are dealing with pension funds, time is of the essence. The magic of compound interest is as Albert Einstein is reported to have once said, “the most powerful force in the universe”. Compound interest, or interest on interest throughout years has the power to make millionaires out of middle class workers that faithfully pay their superannuation contributions. However for that to happen you need to start early in life and be constant with your payments, you don’t want any of those valuable superannuation contributions to get lost.
There are two main groups of superannuation losses you might be worried about:
a) Superannuation employer contributions you worry your employer hasn’t made, and
b) Superannuation contributions you feel have been lost in the system or paperwork.
If you are worried your boss is not paying his part you need to contact the pertinent authorities, check our blog on how to deal with that at www.cleversuper.com.au.
This article will focus on how to getting around claiming for any lost superannuation payments or sums caused by errors or misunderstandings in the system.
The Australian Taxation Office has an excellent website on how to find your lost super at www.ato.gov.au We have nevertheless digested the information for your so you can get a bite size summary of the things you need to do.
1) Check the “List”.
The Taxation Office keeps a list of all the people that have been reported by their super funds as lost, which I find an interest concept. It is not often your money reports you as missing, it would be nice if everyday cash was as considerate when you lose it on the street.
This register, also called LMR (Lost Members Register) keeps a record of lost members for account holders of super funds, approved deposit funds, eligible rollover funds and retirement savings accounts. That is a lot of jargon for one phrase and we will try to unpack it a little throughout the article but sufficient to say that all those accounts are either your box standard super fund or a similar fund that follows the super fund requirements and benefits.
You will probably find yourself on that list if you have recently changed jobs or changed address or if for whatever reason letters that have been sent to you have been returned.
Issues can also begin when you haven’t contributed or passed on any rollover towards your super fund in the last five years. Sometimes you can also appear on this list if an account that has been transferred to your fund had you as a lost member.
2) Fret no more, SuperSeeker is to the rescue.
SuperSeeker is the Australian Taxation Office answer to lost super. It will help you find your lost super instantly 7 days a week 24 hours a day. SuperSeeker searches through the Lost Member Register and other registers to look for potential matches for your lost super.
SuperSeeker is a tool that will look for your lost super in real time and instantly provide you with possible matches. SuperSeeker searches the LMR and our other records to find possible matches for your lost super. You can access SuperSeeker online at the www.ato.gov.au website or by phoning 13 28 65 and following instructions.
Be ready to provide personal and banking questions and to provide the required data. Before you know it you will be enjoying the interest from your lost superannuation contributions.