Aussies reclaim billions in super

SAVVY Australians have clawed back billions of dollars of their own money and ditched having multiple superannuation accounts, new figures have revealed.

Australian Taxation Office data shows in the past year workers have been handed back more than $3.6bn in retirement savings and consolidated more than 2.26 million super accounts.

This is an average of $1600 given back to each individual.

The Morrison government introduced proactive superannuation consolidation last year to prevent account holders from being slugged with multiple fees and insurance costs by holding more than one account.

Assistant Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and Financial Technology Senator Jane Hume said it was critical workers’ money was put back in their own pockets.

“The Morrison government is ensuring every dollar Australians lock away for their retirement is working in an efficient and transparent system — we want your money working harder for you,” Senator Hume said.

“The ATO’s sophisticated data crossmatching capabilities enables it to identify duplicate accounts and automatically rollover dormant accounts into individuals’ active accounts. Instantly you reduce your fees, consolidate your balances and potentially reduce double insurance premiums.”

In October, 74.5 per cent of Australians held a single superannuation account — up from 67.5 per cent in June last year.

Of the money handed back, about $547m has been given to 965,000 eligible individuals where the amount is less than $200 or the individual is aged 65 or over.

The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees’ chief executive officer Eva Scheerlinck said while it was a “great outcome” to see Australians reunited with their money “more work needs to be done”.

“There is still billions of dollars in unclaimed and lost super in super funds and the Australian Taxation Office,” Ms Scheerlinck said.

“Finding any lost or unclaimed super and transferring it to your preferred super fund is much easier than most people think.

“Head to myGov and look at your ATO records, it will show all your super accounts and any unclaimed super you have with the tax office.”

Meanwhile the early access to super scheme rolled out to help people during the pandemic ends on December 31.

So far 3.025 million applications have been made and $37.5bn has been withdrawn.