It’s human nature to avoid painful administrative tasks – even when completing those tasks results in clear benefit. How to find and merge all your lost super accounts
Superannuation is one of those tasks. Recent ATO stats suggest too many taxpayers are setting-and-forgetting their super responsibilities; in 2014, $14 billion in lost super went unclaimed. With the advent of MyGov, though, it’s now easy for taxpayers to keep track of their super. The portal comes with a host of handy features – the handiest of which may be the super consolidator.
The average taxpayer wouldn’t be to blame for thinking super account consolidation costs a pretty penny. That may be why billions of dollars in super are still out there in long-forsaken funds. For lots of career-hopping taxpayers, the story is the same: Your first employer sets you up with an industry fund. When you move on to your next employer, you get set up with another industry fund. You figure getting a new fund is easier than digging up the information for your first fund. Add another job and another fund, and the setting-and-forgetting becomes a slippery slope.
Why does rolling all your super accounts in a single account matter? Each account you have is subject to fees which essentially erodes the balance of each account. By having a single account – you will be only paying fees for the one account.
Rolling all your super accounts into a single account is completely free using MyGov. Here’s how you do it.
1. LOG IN TO MYGOV AND NAVIGATE TO THE ‘SERVICES’ TAB
You have to make sure you’re linked to the ATO. Click on the ‘Australian Taxation Office’ link.
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2. CLICK ON THE ‘SUPER’ DROP-DOWN TAB AND CLICK ON THE ‘TRANSFER SUPER’ BUTTON
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3. CHOOSE THE SUPER ACCOUNTS YOU WANT TO TRANSFER
The ATO will let you know if you don’t have any accounts eligible for transfer.
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It’s that easy!
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