Unclaimed super money

Twice a year we are required to report and pay ‘unclaimed super money’ to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The ATO holds this money on your behalf.

You may be affected if you are in one of the three categories:

Is your super at risk?

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This applies if:
  • we have not received any contribution or rollovers for you for at least 2 years; and 
  • after making reasonable efforts, we have been unable to contact you for five years.

This applies if:

  • you have an account balance under $6,000, and
  • your account has not received any contributions or rollovers for 16 months. 

You will be excluded from being considered an inactive low-balance account if you have:

  • chosen to maintain your insurance (opt-in)
  • any existing insurance cover has not ceased
  • have met a condition of release
  • in the previous 16 months you have taken an action to reactivate your account.

Other circumstances which we may need to transfer your account to the ATO include:

  • deceased members whose benefits can not be paid following death
  • former temporary resident members who have departed Australia 
  • lost members with an account balance less than $6,000
  • a spouse who is entitled to a benefit split under the Family Law Act 1975 and cannot be paid.

Act now to stay with us

There are some simple ways to keep your account with Aware Super and to stop the transfer of your account to the ATO:

As you are over 65 years of age, we just need to get an indication of engagement from you that you are aware of your super account for your account to remain with us.

  1. Contact us

    Simply give us a call on 1300 650 873 and confirm your contact details or log in to your account. This will ensure your super money stays with us.

    Get in touch
  2. Make a contribution to your account

    You can add to your super in a number of different ways. Adding to your super account will make it active and ensure your super money stays with us.

    More about contributions
  3. Combine your super

    Combine any other super you have into your Aware Super account. This will also make your account active.

    Search & combine now
  4. Retire with our leading pension products

    Start an income stream

  1. Notify the ATO

    You can authorise us to advise the ATO that your account is active and you would like to stay with Aware Super.

    Simply complete the Inactive low-balance account authorisation and send it back to us. We’ll then notify the ATO on your behalf and your account will remain with us.

  2. Make a contribution to your account

    You can activate your account by making a contribution. The easiest way to contribute is via BPay®.

    Biller code: 736850

    Customer reference number: log in to your online account or check your latest statement.

  3. Ask your employer to make contributions to your

    Download and complete our form to choose us as your super fund and either email or print a copy and give to your employer.

  4. Combine your super

    Use our find and combine tool to combine any super you may
    have with another fund into your account with us.

  5. Opt in to keep your cover

    You can opt in for insurance cover by either:

     

     

     By opting in, you’re choosing to keep all your insurance. If you only want to keep some of your insurance, you should opt in and then call us to cancel any cover you no longer need.

     

  6. Make or change a binding beneficiary nomination

    If you make a binding beneficiary nomination, or change an
    existing nomination, your account will become active.

  7. Make changes to your investment options

    If you're confident about your super, you can update your investment options in your online account at any time.  A change to your investment option will make your account active.

What happens if your account is paid to the ATO?

If your account is transferred to the ATO, you will no longer be a member of Aware Super and any insurance cover you may have with us will stop. The ATO will try to transfer your balance to an active super fund if you have one. The ATO won’t charge you fees but your super will earn interest based on the consumer price index, which may be less than the investment returns you earn if your account remains with us.^1

You can claim the money from the ATO at any time. Generally, you will need to meet a condition of release to have this money paid to you in cash. Otherwise, it will need to be transferred to an eligible superannuation fund, such as Aware Super.

Make a claim for lost super

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  1. Based on the performance of Aware Super’s default Growth and Balanced Growth investment options that have CPI-linked return objectives between 31/01/2010 and 31/01/2020. Investment returns for Aware Super options are net of account fees, costs and tax. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. For more information, click here