Retirement is a phase of life that people should look forward to, since during this phase of life there are very few limitations on retirees, provided that they have enough money to do the things they love.
Superannuation plans help people save for their retirement in an organized way and help retirees do the things they love.Superannuation plans also allow working adults to save money while paying certain taxes. If you have started saving for your retirement then chances are that you are worried about problems that may occur in case you lose your super.
Your super can be lost due to one or more reasons such as changing your address, changing jobs frequently or changing your name. This being said, there are ways you can find your lost super and listed below are some effective ways you can find your super easily.
What you should do to Track your Lost Super?
In case you have lost your superannuation funds or have unclaimed funds then the Australian Taxation Office can help you out. This department keeps a list of people who have lost their supers or have unclaimed super funds. Once you contact the ATO they will help you find the unclaimed or lost funds by using a specialist online tool known as the Super Seeker.
How does the Super Seeker work?
The Super Seeker is an easy to use free online facility used by the ATO that can help you track lost or unclaimed funds. To use this tool, the ATO will need certain details such as your full name, your date of birth and your tax number. This tool will find where you funds are if unclaimed or lost once the ATO has entered the relevant information into their online software. Once the details are entered into the software program, this tool will cross check with the registers of the ATO and confirm that you have lost or unclaimed funds.
What you should do if you have Lost Super?
- The process for getting lost claims is different than the process of getting unclaimed funds.
- In the case of lost funds, after locating your funds through the help of the ATO you will have to follow a few steps to ensure that your funds reach you. These steps include contacting the super fund, updating your contact details with the super fund, consolidating all your super accounts into 1 account and finally requesting to withdraw the benefit from your fund. You will be able to withdraw the benefit only if you meet the various eligibility criteria and the benefit is equal to $200 or lesser.
- It should be noted that in case you have unclaimed funds then your money would have been transferred to the ATO, hence to get back your money all you have to do is fill out a form with the ATO. This can be done at your local ATO option once they have confirmed that your funds are unclaimed.