POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
ATO to reap $480m in ‘lost super’
An estimated $480 million of ‘lost super' accounts will be transferred to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on the back of legislative changes, according to a super body.
The changes will see the lost super threshold will increase from $2,000 to $4,000 on 31 December 2015, and a further increase to $6,000 in December 2016.
AIST chief executive, Tom Garcia, said if a super fund cannot contact a member, or there has not been any contributions made in the last five years, the account will probably be transferred to the ATO.
AIST noted although the money can be claimed back and will continue to earn interest at the ATO, accounts transferred will lose insurance benefits and can be difficult to track down.
"When an account is re-directed to the ATO the insurance benefits associated with it will cease," Garcia said,
"This is a risk for casual and seasonal workers in particular."
Garcia said that tools and technology such as SuperSeeker is there to make locating and consolidating small super balances as simple as the click of a button.
"The emphasis should be on educating and communicating the benefits of keeping track of your super rather than simply increasing thresholds," he said.
Recommended for you
Vanguard Super has reported strong returns across most of its investment options, attributed to a “low-cost, index-based approach”.
The fund has achieved double-digit returns amid market volatility, reinforcing the value of long-term investment strategies for its members.
Australian super funds notched a third consecutive year of strong returns, with the median balanced option delivering an estimated 10.1 per cent over the 2024-25 financial year, but an economist has warned that the rally may be harder to sustain as key risks gather pace.
AustralianSuper has reported a 9.52 per cent return for its Balanced super option for the 2024–25 financial year, as markets delivered another year of strong performance despite the complex investing environment.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom 465 Calder Road Calder
99.46 3 y p.a(%)
2
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
95.46 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
78.55 3 y p.a(%)
4
BetaShares Crypto Innovators ETF
50.39 3 y p.a(%)
5
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
47.50 3 y p.a(%)
