Merging your super is vital to maximising your retirement savings.
Changing jobs over the years will put you at risk of losing some of your super if your previous employers have set up accounts you have forgotten about. Fees will erode the balances on these inactive accounts and result in you losing your hard earned super. You should also consolidate to maximise the interest accrued on your single super balance.
Merge your super with this checklist and keep your super savings on track for success.
Research your fund’s policy Compare your active super accounts so you can make the right choice about which one you should close. You should assess:
Exit fees
Insurance policies
Investment options
Ongoing service fees
Performance of the funds
Rollover process Once you have made your decision, you can combine your super balance by:
Requesting to merge your accounts through your chosen super fund
Apply through your myGov account or the ATO
Keep in mind that funds will take time to process your request and rollover.
If you’re not close to retiring, you may not be thinking about your super or where it is. Even if you are a way off from retiring, you should be keeping track of where your super has gone. $17.5 billion of super was lost in 2017-18, $420 million down from the previous year. If you are not paying attention to your super contributions, accounts and insurances, you may have lost super. You may also have unintentionally lost track of super if you have ever changed your name, address, job or lived overseas.
It is not uncommon for people to have multiple super accounts they have acquired over the years of working at different companies. Having multiple unused accounts can result in high fees that drain your untouched super or you could lose track of it completely. It is in your best interest to consolidate all super into one account that suits your retirement goals. When closing unused accounts, you should be mindful of any termination fees, insurance policies, investment options, and ongoing service fees.
If you have lost track of your super it may be held by either your super fund as a lost account or as an ATO-held account. The easiest way to consolidate super is through the myGov website, linking the ATO to records of your super funds
