Handy Tips To Consolidate Your Super

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by: B.Darling
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Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2011 Time: 1:48 PM
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Why should you consolidate your super? Don't shy away from the topic if you're scared you'll be dealing with mountains of paperwork. It's your hard-earned money and the funds will go towards your living in retirement. You owe it to yourself to learn as much as possible about getting the most out of your super.

Most employers you've had will have contributed at least 9 percent to your super, though this percentage may be less depending on when you joined the workforce. Every time you change jobs, you may not have considered transferring your super balance, and you now may have multiple super accounts each charging a separate set of fees. Losing track of one or more of your super accounts over time may let your super fall into the category known as lost super.

Lost super is money in super accounts that are considered lost essentially because the beneficiary of the super has stopped contributing to it or the fund can no longer contact the account owner. A way of avoiding this is to keep track of, or rollover and consolidate, your super from job to job: remember this process doesn't happen automatically. You may have lost your super when your fund is unable to contact you after a certain period of time. In this case may have failed to notify them of a change in address, name, or any other vital details making you unable to be contacted.

Do you want to consolidate your super? Consolidate superannuation with these handy tips:

Take advantage of the Australian Taxation Office's Superseeker tool, which you can use online, over the phone, and in person. All you need is your Tax File Number, Date of Birth, and your name or names (if changed). With this you can search through the vast database of lost super held by the Australian Tax Office. The results shown will be accounts that have been reported as ‘lost' by your former super funds. If Superseeker cannot locate the money and you are certain it is out there somewhere, you may need to do some further tracking down.

You can start by creating a list of every job you've ever had. Looking at old pay stubs, your CV, and old tax returns and associated paperwork such as group certificates can help jog your memory and put the pieces together. Once found you may want to call your employer to ask them if the information is on their records and what super fund they use as a default for their employees.

Once you have found your old super fund call them and give them your contact details, and ask them if you still have an account. From here you can access details required to consolidate your old super account to your preferred one. Paperwork and photo identification will likely be required and be aware that withdrawal fees may apply and there may also be implications if any insurance benefits are attached to the account.

About the Author

Stop doubling up on accounts and consolidate superannuation today. Moving your super into one industry super fund will save time, incur less paper work and may save you money.