Find your lost millions
By Bina Brown | theage.com.au | 10 February
It is hard to believe someone could be entitled to $3.13 million as the result of a company takeover and not know about it.
But a record $470 billion is being held by government agencies waiting to be collected by more than half a million Australians who have lost track of their money.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is holding about $458 billion for people whose accounts with insurance companies, banks, building societies and credit unions have been dormant for seven years, as well as money from company takeovers and companies that have lost contact with shareholders.
The Australian Tax Office, which administers lost and unclaimed superannuation records, is waiting for $11.9 billion to be claimed by 6.1 million account holders.
In most cases, all it takes for people to check is a few minutes online or a phone call.
Lost super
Superannuation funds are required to send regular statements to their members. If mail is returned unclaimed twice and no other correspondence between the fund and the member occurs, the member is considered lost and the details sent to the Australian Tax Office.
A member may also become "lost" at the discretion of the trustee of a fund, or if contributions are not made to your fund for several years.
In the case of superannuation, funds can either keep the money or send it to an eligible rollover fund such as AUSfund - Australia's Unclaimed Super Fund.
According to AUSfund manager Warren Fawcett, more than 50 super funds use AUSfund as their preferred option. Its matching process links members with their unclaimed super and last year reunited more than 170,000 members with $82 million.
From July 1 lost money between $20 and $200 can be taken as cash but any higher sum must be rolled over into an active super account.
Some eligible rollover funds charge very high fees, so the sooner you get your money out the more you will have.
To check whether you have lost or unclaimed super, see the Tax Office website, http://www. ato.gov.au.
Unclaimed super
The difference between lost and unclaimed super is subtle but important. An unclaimed super account is when the fund has the member's address and the member knows where the account is but the member will not roll it over into the active super account.
"People don't leave money in their account when they close their bank account. Why do they do it with superannuation?" Fawcett asks.
"AUSfund is concerned that members, once found, choose not to consolidate their super - primarily, we believe, due to a lack of understanding of the benefits of consolidation or the small amounts involved."
Fawcett says the benefits of consolidation include not paying two or more sets of fees and less paperwork. "It cuts down on the administrative responsibilities of members and, when people are close to retiring, there is no mad scramble trying to track down bits of super."
Unclaimed money
Different again is the $458 billion in unclaimed money being held by the securities watchdog, mainly from accounts with insurance companies, banks, building societies and credit unions that have been dormant for seven years. It also includes money from company takeovers, or from companies that have been unable to contact shareholders for six years.
Claims paid for the financial year 2006-07 were about $54.2 million, made up of $7.6 million from life insurance, $18.6 million from bank accounts and the like, and $28.03 million from companies.
The commission says money owed to individuals and businesses ranges from $1 to more than $3 million - and searching for it has never been easier.
As of November 27, the largest amounts available were $105,002.50 from Life Acorn Prudential Ltd; $428,008.60 from HSBC Bank Australia; and $3,137,699.95 from a company relating to a takeover.
Australians can log into its free online database at http://www.fido.gov.au and type in their name.
As there is some information that can't be published online for privacy reasons, people are encouraged to use its Infoline - 1300 300 630 or email infoline@asic.gov.au.
"Searching is free and there's no cost involved in claiming your lost money - the only thing you need to do is provide proof that you are the owner or beneficiary," the commission's Delia Rickard says.
Unclaimed super windfall makes Shirley's day
Shirley Bates, 72, didn't even realise her employer was paying money into her superannuation account so it was like winning the lottery when, about 10 years after she left work, she found out she was owed about $2000.
"The superannuation fund has been searching for me for some time but they had the wrong street and so mail just kept getting sent back," Shirley says.
"I didn't even realise [the employer was] taking money out and putting it into superannuation so it was a lovely surprise when [the super fund] caught up with me. I had to verify who I was and they sent me a cheque for nearly $2000."
Shirley's original superannuation fund had eventually sent the money, which was the superannuation guarantee levy paid by her employer, to AUSfund, Australia's Unclaimed Super Fund.
The windfall could not have come at a better time. Shirley's intellectually disabled son had been selected to play in a bowling league in Queensland which she would not have been able to attend had it not been for the money.
Most of AUSfund's 1.8 million members are aged between 24 and 44 with the average balance $330. To check whether you are one of those members, see www.unclaimedsuper.com.au.
First published by TheAge.com.au on February 10 2008
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