Superannuation

"Lost" Superannuation

There is a substantial amount of "lost" superannuation in Australia - where superannuation funds or RSA's have lost contact with the members or account holders. This is quite common amongst expatriate Australians who left for overseas relatively early in their careers - although prior to 1992 superannuation was not compulsory.

There are a number of mechanisms through which you may search for lost superannuation - they include using the SuperSeeker provided by the Australian Tax Office. You will need to provide details of your tax file number (TFN), name and date of birth. The only substantial weakness with this search approach is that not all superannuation funds have an associated TFN - particularly older balances - but it is recommended as the first step in the search for any lost balances. Thereafter, if no balance exists according to SuperSeeker, but you are sure that a superannuation balance exists "somewhere" then you have the option of having a search conducted by a specialist firm. Fee will apply in this case.

Alternatively, if you are overseas, you can email supermail@ato.gov.au and request a search that does not require your TFN. Please include your name, date of birth and current address in your email.

Complete the Superannuation Inquiry form