$1 million super sleeper
Huge unclaimed pot part of fortune in lost Tassie nest-eggs
THE Australian Tax Office has urged Tasmanians to check their super accounts as it revealed one local has more than $ 1 million sitting unclaimed in a “lost” account
Figures from the 2017-18 financial year released by the ATO showed 6.2 million superannuation accounts, with an average balance of $2933, lay unclaimed by their owners around the nation.
People who have changed jobs, moved house or forgotten to update their personal details are among those most likely to be missing retirement savings.
Launceston residents re- duced their lost and unclaimed super balances by over $1 million in 2017-18, doing so at the fastest rate in the state.
In Devonport, the lost and unclaimed amount owing in- creased by more than $1.2 million in the last financial year.
Tasmanians needed to be more active in finding their lost super, which is spread across the state in more than 46,000 accounts, ATO assistant commissioner Graham Whyte said.
“We’re determined to help people find their super and I’m pleased to say that in the past financial year more than $56 million was consolidated into active super accounts by Tasmanians, giving their retire- ment savings a welcome boost,” Mr Whyte said.
“One Tasmanian account has more than $1 million waiting to be found.”
Mr Whyte said people lost contact with their super funds when they changed jobs, moved house and forgot to update their details.
The ATO data showed more than a third of Australians still held two or more super accounts.
“While we know that some people intentionally maintain a number of accounts, many are unaware that their super may be sitting in multiple accounts and possibly being eroded by fees,” Mr Whyte said.
For information on how to manage your super and view all your super accounts including lost and unclaimed super, visit ato.gov.au/checkyoursuper.
To find out how much lost super is in your postcode and to see other superannuation statistics visit ato.gov.au/lostsuper.