I have previously written about the importance of superannuation to a person’s estate planning and how it is important to consider consolidating your superannuation accounts.
Before you can consolidate your superannuation accounts, you need to know what accounts you have. There are 7.1 million lost super accounts in Australia totalling $17 billion, meaning one in 3 adults has a lost super balance of $2,500.00. Some of these accounts may have included a life insurance policy that has now lapsed. Also, if there is a Binding Death Benefit Nomination (beneficiary nomination) attached to the account, it may well have lapsed and therefore be non-effective, meaning there is no certainty who received the super proceeds on your death.
Most of this lost super is held by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and attracts an interest rate of only 3.5% pa. To check with the ATO if you have lost super amounts held by them, log into the ATO section on MyGov and check for any lost super. If you do not have MyGov, you can either ring the ATO or lodge a lost super search request form with the ATO in the post.
Finally, I recommend that you go to the ATO website and refer to its 5 Step Super Health Check to avoid having your super lost in the future.
After all, super is you bank account for retirement!
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