By Paul Feeney, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Otivo
Somewhere in Australia's super system sits $18.9 billion that can't find its owners. Not stolen, not spent — just disconnected. A name change here, a house move there, a casual job from 2011 whose paperwork went to an old address. The ATO calls it lost and unclaimed super, and it grew by $1.1 billion in the past year alone. Checking whether any of it is yours takes about five minutes, and it's one of the few money tasks where the entire upside is money you already earned.
Lost super is money held by a fund that can no longer contact the member or where the account has gone inactive. Unclaimed super is money transferred to the ATO, often from inactive low-balance accounts. As at 30 June 2025, ATO data shows $18.9 billion in lost and unclaimed super across roughly 7.3 million accounts, all searchable through myGov.
How does super get lost in the first place?
Super gets lost when the paper trail between a fund and its member breaks. The most common breaks are mundane. Moving house without updating the fund. Changing a surname after marriage or divorce. Working a string of casual jobs where each employer opened a fresh default account that was never looked at again.
Once a fund can't reach a member, the account is flagged as lost. If it sits inactive with a low balance, the money is eventually transferred to the ATO as unclaimed super, where it waits — earning interest at a rate tied to inflation, but no longer invested the way super normally is. The ATO has reunited or paid out around $5.5 billion across roughly 3.1 million accounts since 2022, yet the pool keeps refilling faster than it drains.
How much lost super is out there?
As at 30 June 2025, just over $18.9 billion, held across just under 7.3 million accounts, according to the ATO's lost and unclaimed super statistics. That's up $1.1 billion on the year before.
Two things make that number worth pausing on. First, it isn't rare money — with millions of accounts affected, the odds that an ordinary working Australian has a slice are far from trivial, especially anyone who worked casual jobs before super stapling began in 2021. Second, lost super doesn't just sit still in the meantime. Money parked with the ATO as unclaimed super grows only with interest pegged to the consumer price index, rather than being invested for the long term the way super is designed to be.
The three-step lost super check
Finding out takes three steps and about five minutes.
- Log in to myGov and make sure the ATO is linked as a service. Anyone who has lodged a tax return online has likely done this already.
- Open the super section. Every super account recorded against your tax file number appears here — active accounts, lost accounts held by funds, and any money the ATO itself is holding.
- Act on what's there. ATO-held super can be transferred to an active account on the spot. Fund-held lost super can be claimed by contacting the fund or starting a rollover online.
That's the whole process. No forms in the mail, no fees, no waiting on hold. The ATO's own super health check walks through the same steps for anyone who wants a guided version.
What's worth doing once you've found it?
Finding a forgotten account raises a follow-up question — leave it, claim it, or roll it into your main account. Many Australians choose to bring everything together, since one account generally means one set of fees rather than several. Before closing any account, though, it's worth checking whether insurance is attached to it, because cover ends when the account does.
The other useful move is prevention. Keeping contact details current with both your fund and the ATO is what stops an account going missing again. It's unglamorous, and it works.
Once the accounts are found and tidy, the bigger question is whether the money in them is set up well — the right investment option, the right contribution settings, the right insurance. That's where Otivo can help, with regulated digital advice under AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 485665 that looks at a person's whole position rather than one account at a time.
Frequently asked questions
Is checking for lost super free?
Yes. The search through myGov and the ATO is free, and transferring ATO-held super to an active account costs nothing. Services that offer to find lost super for a fee are searching the same database anyone can access directly.
What happens to super the ATO is holding?
ATO-held unclaimed super earns interest in line with the consumer price index until it's claimed. It isn't invested in growth assets the way money inside a super fund typically is, which is one reason many people choose to move it into an active account once they find it.
Can lost super be paid out in cash?
Generally no. Found super remains super, which means the usual preservation rules apply — it stays invested until a condition of release is met, most commonly reaching preservation age and retiring. Limited exceptions exist, such as balances under $200 or amounts belonging to people over 65.
Sources
- ATO — Total lost (fund-held) and ATO-held super. ato.gov.au
- ATO — $19 billion in lost and unclaimed super, is some of it yours. ato.gov.au
- ASIC MoneySmart — Find lost super. moneysmart.gov.au
Disclaimer
The information in this communication is current as at July 2026 and has been prepared by Otivo Pty Ltd ABN 47 602 457 732, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 485665. This content is general information only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not personal financial or taxation advice and should not be relied on as such. Before acting on any information, you should consider its appropriateness having regard to your personal circumstances. This material must not be reproduced in whole or in part, or posted on any social media platform, without the prior written consent of Otivo Pty Ltd.