Lost and unclaimed super

Almost $18 billion was waiting to be claimed in more than 6.3 million lost and unclaimed super accounts as at 30 June 2017,¹ latest ATO figures reveal.

And the figures show more than $3.1 billion of that lost and unclaimed super has been attributed to 789,768 Queensland accounts, with Mackay and Cairns the two locations missing the most super Australia-wide.²

Three Queensland postcodes – for suburbs and surrounding areas of Mackay, Cairns and Toowoomba – were in the ATO’s list of the top five Australian postcodes ranked by the number of lost and unclaimed super accounts and their values as at 30 June 2017.

Please note: Addresses (including postcodes) are reported by superannuation funds over a number of years. This means the postcode data may not reflect the postcode in which the member now currently resides and the postcode data may include postcodes that are no longer valid.

What is unclaimed super?

The ATO describes unclaimed super accounts as those held by the tax office as the fund was unable to contact the member, or the member’s account did not receive contributions for five years. Accounts of this nature are transferred to ATO to protect them from ongoing fees.

What is lost super?

Super is considered ‘lost’ when a super fund hasn’t received a contribution to that account in the last 12 months and is unable to contact the member.

QSuper will record you as uncontactable if we haven’t received a contribution or rollover to your account within the last 12 months and:

• we’ve never had an address for you, or
• two letters we’ve sent you have been returned as undelivered
• you haven't contacted QSuper within the last 12 months
• you haven't accessed details about your QSuper account from any electronic facility within the last 12 months.

This happens unless:

• you've been permanently excluded from being a lost member, or
• within the last two years QSuper has verified that your address is correct and QSuper has no reason to believe the address is now incorrect.

If we've had two letters returned to us, recording you as uncontactable means we can also make sure your statements are not being sent to the wrong person and your details are kept safe.

Please see our Lost Members Factsheet for more information.

Overall, with almost half of Australian workers unknowingly having multiple super funds in their name, there’s a chance some of this lost super could be yours.

How do I know if I have lost super?

Provided you’ve previously given us your permission to search the ATO register, we’ll automatically check and let you know if we find any other super accounts, including lost super accounts, so we can reunite you with it.

If you’re not sure whether you’ve previously given us your permission, log into Member Online and read any unread notifications at the top. If you find a ‘We can find your super’ notification, it means you haven’t given us your consent. But once you’ve given it, we’ll let you know if we find any of your super.

How do I search for lost super myself?

You can create a myGov account and link it to the ATO. This way you’ll be able to see upfront all the details of all your super accounts, including any accounts you might have forgotten about. You can also use this tool to consolidate – by transferring your super into your preferred account.

What to do with lost super?

Once we’ve let you know you have lost or other super, the final step is to consolidate. Before rolling your super over, you should check what fees your other super fund charges and if you'll lose any benefits such as insurance or pension options. Then just log into Member Online, click on the ‘Super’ tab, choose the ‘Add to super’ tab and the ‘Consolidate with QSuper' option.

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1. Source: https://www.ato.gov.au/super/apra-regulated-funds/reporting-and-administrative-obligations/unclaimed-super/.  Accessed 22 September 2017

2. Source: https://www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/research-and-statistics/in-detail/super-statistics/super-accounts-data/lost-and-unclaimed-super-by-postcode/. Accessed 22 September 2017

3. Source: https://www.ato.gov.au/About-ATO/Research-and-statistics/In-detail/Super-statistics/Super-accounts-data/Super-accounts-data-overview/, accessed 27 January 2017