ATO urges Aussies to cash in on nearly $18 billion in lost or unclaimed super
<p>The Australian Taxation Office is urging people to check whether they are eligible to cash in on almost $17.8 billion in lost or unclaimed superannuation. </p>
<p>Lost super is when your fund has lost touch with you or your account is inactive, and this can occur if you've changed your name, moved homes or changed jobs, without updating your details. </p>
<p>The lost super becomes unclaimed when your fund transfers this lost money to the ATO. </p>
<p>"Since 2021, the ATO has reunited almost $6.4 billion of unclaimed super with its owners. But there is still more than $17.8 billion waiting to be found,"<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> ATO deputy commissioner Emma Rosenzweig said.</span></p>
<p>"If you've changed jobs, moved house or simply forgotten to update your details, you may have lost or unclaimed super.</p>
<p>"We're urging Australians to check if some of the $17.8 billion in lost and unclaimed super belongs to them."</p>
<p>As of June 30, 2024, super funds and the ATO are holding lost super for over 7.1 million accounts, with retirees among those with lost or unclaimed super. </p>
<p>The ATO revealed it was holding $471 million on behalf of those aged over 65. </p>
<p>“Superannuation is a key part of your retirement, and we want to make sure Australians are claiming the investment they’ve worked for,” Rosenzweig said.</p>
<p>You can check for lost super online through the <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/growing-and-keeping-track-of-your-super/keeping-track-of-your-super/super-health-check#ato-Check3Checkforlostandunclaimedsuper" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ATO</a>. </p>
<p>For those wanting to search for unclaimed cash, including unclaimed refunds, share dividends, uncashed cheques and more, you can visit <a href="https://asic.gov.au/for-consumers/unclaimed-money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federal</a> and state websites to see if you have anything owed to you. </p>
<p>Unclaimed money is cash owed to people who can't be located, either due to name or address changes, lost paperwork or just forgot about the cash. </p>
<p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>
