New legislation should make it easier to claim lost superannuation, the total of which is estimated to be $20 billion across Australians – that’s a lot of money to go unclaimed.
Details of the draft legislation were released this week, with the aim of the new rules to make it easier for those trying to claim lost superannuation. It will also simplify the process of consolidating accounts, where super fund members have more than one, which will help reduce the fees paid by individuals.
The current legislation allows for super fund administrators to move unclaimed super accounts into an eligible rollover fund (ERF) so that the account doesn’t lose more in fees than it would receive in interest. The new legislation will allow for ERF fund administrators to combine inactive super accounts of any individual, without first having to contact them, to limit fees paid.
Currently, a super account is deemed to be lost if it has a balance of less than $2000 and the fund has been unable to contact the member for 12 months. The changes will acknowledge that people are becoming increasingly likely to contact their super fund via email or through an online transaction. This means that the classification of lost super will no longer be reliant on no communication by mail or phone.
A separate item of legislation is set to increase the balance at which an inactive account is deemed lost from $2000 to $4000.
If legislation is passed, the new rules will take effective from 30 June 2016.
Read more at The Age.
If you think you may have money in lost super, you can find out more on how to search at ATO.gov.au. It is worth noting that some of your details may not be recorded properly, so it’s worthwhile persevering if you think you have money unclaimed.
Have you ever tried to claim lost super? Did you find the process easy?
