For millions of Australians, superannuation feels like a locked vault, only accessible after retirement. But a little-known rule from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) could allow you to access some of that money right now—without paying a cent in tax.
The loophole hiding in plain sight
Most people assume they need to wait until age 65 to withdraw from their super. However, if you have a super account separate from your main one, and it has less than $200, you can withdraw it at any time, no strings attached.
The ATO recently revealed that $51 million in this type of unclaimed super is sitting there, just waiting to be collected.
According to AustralianSuper education manager Peter Treseder, most people have no idea this option exists. Speaking to Yahoo Finance, he explained:
“The ATO keeps track of your super accounts, so you can go into your myGov account, navigate to the super section, and it will list all the super funds you have based on your Tax File Number (TFN). From there, you can consolidate.”
Most Australians have no clue this money is theirs
A recent ATO survey found that a staggering 83% of people didn’t know about this loophole. The best part? Withdrawals from these small accounts are tax-free.
There are many reasons why you might have multiple super accounts. Perhaps an old employer set up a new fund instead of using your existing one. Maybe you changed your name or address, and your old account lost track of you.
In cases where an account becomes inactive or uncontactable, it’s classified as lost super—and there’s a lot of it.
How much lost super is out there?
The ATO estimates that $17.8 billion in lost super is floating around Australia. That’s money that belongs to everyday Aussies, just waiting to be reclaimed. And it doesn’t stop at superannuation.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) recently revealed that an additional $2.3 billion is sitting unclaimed in old bank accounts, Medicare benefits, and lost super funds. Amounts range from a few dollars to over a million.
How to find and claim your lost super
The process to track down your lost money is surprisingly easy.
If your lost super has been transferred to the ATO, you’ll need to collect some key details from your former super fund:
- Super fund name
- Your member account number
- The amount transferred to the ATO
- The date the transfer occurred
- Any payment reference numbers
Once you have this information, you can check your lost super using these methods:
- Online via myGov
- Calling the ATO’s lost super search line at 13 28 65 (TFN required)
- Filling out a form and sending it to the ATO
- Using a third-party request if claiming on someone else’s behalf
Why you should check now
ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland urged Australians to take action, noting that billions of dollars are just sitting there, unclaimed.
“We’d like to encourage more people to check if they have unclaimed money and get it back into their hands,” Kirkland told 2GB.
His advice? Go to Moneysmart.gov.au and do a quick search. It takes less than a minute to see if there’s money waiting for you.
