How to: transfer your super

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It’s common to hear about people reaching their 30’s and suddenly realising they have multiple superannuation accounts. A person in our team here admitted to having 10 at once, at one point in their life! Super can be such an unspoken, disregarded aspect of our financial life that truly does become “tomorrow’s problem.”

The nature of superannuation is that the larger the sum of money you have in there from an early age, the greater the compound interest is that you earn on that money. So, by segmenting your super into many different funds, you are essentially cheating yourself of thousands of dollars down the road. Numerous super funds can also charge high fees, life insurances and other hidden fees that could be eating up the savings you accumulated in an old fund.

Here’s how you can fix it by consolidating all your super into one fund.

Step 1: Find all your super accounts

If you visit the myGov website, navigate to the ATO site and click ‘manage my super’- from here you can search for any old or forgotten super accounts that may have been opened for you by previous employers.

Step 2: Figure out which fund you want all your super to go to.

Use comparison sites and super ratings review sites to check the performance of different funds. Super funds operate on a long term basis so check the 5-year performance returns and the 10-year returns, at the very LEAST! Also compare their fees and charges to make sure you have the one most suited to you.

Step 3: Log in or create a myGov account.
  • From myGov, if you haven’t already – you can link the ATO to your account.
  • Inside the ATO page, go to the ‘Super’ tab.
  • On this page, choose the ‘transferring fund’ that you want your money to move from and the ‘receiving fund’, which you want your total superannuation to move to.
  • Confirm your selection on the page.

This can take up to 3 days for each transfer to be completed but if you require any further information, visit:  www.ato.gov.au/superonline.

A lot of super funds will also enable you to transfer your super from their websites but depending on how many you need to move, this could be a lengthier way to go about it. Some super funds provide a service where they will consolidate accounts on your behalf, so contact either the super fund you want to stay with or the one you’re leaving.

 

Important: This content has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. It does not constitute formal advice. Consider the appropriateness of the information in regard to your circumstances.

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