Lost super pool shrinking
The push to reunite members with their lost superannuation accounts appears to have worked according to the Australian Taxation Office's (ATOs) annual report which claimed the amount of lost super had fallen for the first time over 2011/12.
Approximately 1.1 million lost and unclaimed super accounts holding $3.2 billion were 'found' this year reducing the overall amount of lost super to $17.7 billion.
It is the first time the level of lost super has fallen, after it reached a peak of $21 billion at the end of the 2010/11 financial year.
Programs such as the ATO's SuperSeeker that aimed to reunite members with lost super were behind the shrinking pool of lost retirement savings, the government said.
It said super reforms including Super Stream and the increase in compulsory contributions from 9-12 per cent were also designed to save costs for the industry and protect Australian's retirement savings.
Further super reforms including the announcement to protect small lost super accounts from fee erosion by increasing the lost accounts threshold for transferral to the ATO would also help protect lost super accounts.
Changes to tax charges for low income earners and applying interest to lost super accounts were also cited as reforms to help protect capital and reunite lost super accounts with their owners.
There are still about 6.1 million lost and unclaimed accounts with a value of approximately $17.7 billion.
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