Younger Aussies most likely to have lost superannuation: Westpac
Younger Australian's may own a big piece of the $17.4 billion pool of lost superannuation, according to Westpac's Lost Super Report.
Westpac found almost two-thirds of under 40s surveyed are likely to have lost superannuation, and more than half of those under 40 are not making any attempt to recover it.
The report also found two-fifths of under 40s do not know if they have lost superannuation.
"These statistics point to a lack of understanding about lost super amongst younger Australians and demonstrates an opportunity to try to educate them in a more compelling way," said Westpac Group head of superannuation, Melanie Evans.
The majority of people also underestimated the amount they would need to live on, according to Evans.
"In general, there is a lack of engagement around retirement planning across all generations, with the majority of people surveyed seriously underestimating how much super they will require to live comfortably when they stop working," she said.
Westpac found younger generations have greater job mobility, with 42.2 per cent of under 40s saying they have had more than four employers over the past decade - a likely cause of lost super.
Evans said while it was easy to lose superannuation through changing employment and address, the process to reclaim was simple and Westpac now offered assistance in their branches.
Westpac also found there was a perception that amounts were too small to claim, people were unaware of how to go about reclaiming and were time-poor.
Two-thirds surveyed said they would like more help to locate lost superannuation.
Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation Bill Shorten said the initiative complements the work government is doing to consolidate superannuation accounts. He said government had improved the SuperSeeker website.
The Pilbara was found to be the top spot for lost superannuation, the Westpac report said.
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