There’s almost $18 billion of unclaimed superannuation. Here’s how to find it.

When it comes to accumulated retirement savings, many Australians have a strong fear of running out of money before they die.

Vanguard’s 2024 How Australia Retires research released in June found that almost one in two Australians do not know whether their money will last them in retirement.

But equally staggering is the fact that millions of Australians have apparently lost track of their retirement savings.

According to new data released by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) in September, there’s billions of dollars of lost superannuation either being held by super funds or the ATO that’s waiting to be reclaimed by super members or account beneficiaries.

In fact, the ATO data shows there was $17.8 billion of unclaimed super at 30 June 2024 associated with over 7.1 million individual super accounts.

According to the ATO, there was $11.8 billion in “lost super” being held by super funds within approximately 333,000 individual accounts.

Of these, $6.2 billion was linked to 192,000 “lost uncontactable” accounts and a further $5.6 billion was linked to 141,000 “lost inactive” accounts.

Separately, the ATO reported that it was holding $6 billion (rounded to the nearest hundred million) in unclaimed super money that was contained within 6,776,000 individual accounts.

This included around $1.8 billion in around 3 million super accounts with what the regulator describes as “general, small and insoluble” amounts and another $1.8 billion in about 1.7 million “inactive low balance accounts”.

Furthermore, the ATO said it was holding almost $1.1 billion in super money earned by former temporary residents, $364 million in eligible rollover funds, $361 million in accounts of members aged 65 and over, $339 million in trustee voluntary payments, and $166 million in accounts of deceased individuals.

People often lose contact with their super funds when they change jobs, move house, live overseas, or forget to update their details.

Main reasons super becomes lost

People often lose contact with their super funds when they change jobs, move house, live overseas, or forget to update their details.

Lost super is money held by super funds where a member is either uncontactable and their account hasn’t received a contribution or rollover for 12 months, or the member is inactive and their account hasn’t received a contribution or rollover in five years.

Super providers are required to report and pay super to the ATO once it reaches certain requirements. Any super balances below $6,000 are transferred to the ATO if an account has been inactive for 12 months.

Other reasons super funds must report and pay lost or unclaimed super benefits are detailed on the ATO’s website.

The ATO said that in the 2023-24 financial year it has been able to match a total of just over $4.7 million related to around 4.4 million super accounts. This was roughly around the same numbers it provided for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 financial years.

Prevention is better than cure to avoid funds being transferred to the lost super basket. Consolidating your super savings into one account is one way of keeping track.

It’s also important to check that your current contact information and bank account details are correct

How to check for lost and unclaimed super

To search for lost and unclaimed super, log on to ATO online services through myGov.

From the top menu, select Super. Then select either:

• Fund details to check for lost super – if you want to keep your super with the same fund, contact them directly to update your details.
• Manage and then Transfer super to transfer lost super to an eligible super account – or ask your fund to complete the transfer for you.
• Manage and then Transfer super to transfer ATO held super to an eligible super account.
• Manage and then Withdraw ATO-held super to have your super paid directly to you if the amount is less than $200 or you are over 65.

You can also use myGov to check if you have multiple super accounts and to consolidate super accounts.

General advice warning

Vanguard is the product issuer and the Operator of Vanguard Personal Investor. Vanguard Super Pty Ltd (ABN 73 643 614 386 / AFS Licence 526270 is the trustee of Vanguard Super (ABN 27 923 449 966) and the issuer of Vanguard Super products. We have not taken your objectives, financial situation or needs into account when preparing this report so it may not be applicable to the particular situation you are considering. You should consider your objectives, financial situation or needs and the disclosure documents of any relevant Vanguard financial product before making any investment decision. Before you make any financial decision regarding a Vanguard financial product, you should seek professional advice from a suitably qualified adviser. A copy of the Target Market Determinations (TMD) for Vanguard’s financial products can be obtained at vanguard.com.au free of charge and include a description of who the financial product is appropriate for. You should refer to the TMD of a Vanguard financial product before making any investment decisions. You can access our IDPS Guide, Product Disclosure Statements, Prospectus and TMD at vanguard.com. au or by calling 1300 655 101. Past performance information is given for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon as, and is not, an indication of future performance. This report was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions.