Wouldn’t it be great to win Lotto…Just think what you could do with the money.
But the odds are stacked against you. The chance of picking all six winning numbers (Division 1) is around one in eight million. Even collecting around $1,000 in Division 3 has a probability of about one in 37,0001.
Your odds are much better when it comes to unclaimed or lost super. The chances of a working Australian collecting close to $3,000 in lost super is around one in two. According to Treasury2, there were around 5 million lost super accounts at 30 June 2011 and around 11.5 million working Australians – so almost one in two workers on average had a lost super account. And Treasury2 also estimates the total of lost super at $17.4 billion which equates to an average lost super balance of $3,026.
Lost super comes from super accounts where the super fund has been unable to contact the owner of the account. It can happen if you change jobs, names or your address without telling your super fund.
The ATO maintains a register of accounts that super funds have classified as ‘lost’. Super funds report members as lost when they have received unclaimed mail for the member or when the account has not shown activity for five years.
So why hunt down your lost super? Firstly, there is a high chance the fund is being whittled down by fees. Secondly, you may be paying insurance premiums on insurance cover you already have elsewhere.
Thirdly, it is simple to do. BT has a lost super service that has already helped re-unite thousands of Australians with their lost super. All you need is your tax file number, we can look after the rest – go to btsuperforlife.com.au/lost-super or call our Contact Centre on 132 135.
1www.nswlotteries.com.au
2Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation website