By Taylah Eastwell
Hard-working Hills residents could be missing their slice of up to $13.8 billion in unclaimed cash – with no idea they are even entitled to it.
According to the Australian Taxation Office, $2,272,046,530 in unclaimed superannuation is waiting to be collected across the state.
In the Hills, Emerald residents are in luck, with over $2,198,176 up for grabs – the highest amount on the mountain.
Ferntree Gully residents are also good to know, with over $1,654,311 waiting in unclaimed or lost superannuation accounts between FTG, Upper Gully and Lysterfield.
Lilydale residents are missing out on up to $671,945, while friends up the hill in Mt Evelyn are living without around $359,929 in super owed from hard-earned wages.
Around to the right of the mountain, luck starts to decrease, with Monbulk locals missing out on $238,457 and Olinda’s total sitting at $115,462.
Belgrave and Tecoma residents are missing their share of $412,014, while the Monbulk community could be filling their pockets with up to $209,581.
The importance of tracking down super that is owed has never been more important, with more than $36 billion released in early super payments in 2020 as Covid-19 shattered the economy.
New research from Colonial First State shows its superannuation members aged under 30 took almost one-third of all early super release payments during the coronavirus pandemic last year, while women’s super balances fell further behind men, widening the gender super gap to 18 per cent.
41 per cent of those who withdrew super through the early release scheme, are yet to start rebuilding their superannuation savings, the research found.
Colonial First State General Manager, Kelly Power, said the organisation supported measures the government put in place last year to help Australians.
“We’ve seen firsthand how the pandemic has impacted some of our members. The early release scheme has been a vitally important initiative to help Australians deal with the pandemic and cover basic expenses, including those living overseas, or unable to get back to Australia,” she said.
“We are now encouraging Australians to consider a plan to rebuild their nest-eggs and replenish their super. It is positive to see that of our members who withdrew their super early, half of those have made headway in making contributions, whether through their employer or own pocket, to get their super back on track.
People can search for lost and unclaimed super by postcode on the ATO website at: https://www.ato.gov.au/About-ATO/Research-and-statistics/In-detail/Super-statistics/Super-accounts-data/Lost-and-unclaimed-super-by-postcode/
To find lost or unclaimed super:
1. Login to MyGov.
2. Link the ATO portal to your MyGov account.
3. Click the ‘Manage My Super’ button in the ATO portal.
