According to recent reports, there are approximately 3.4 million ‘lost super accounts’ in Australia that have a combined worth of almost $17 billion. Billion with a B!

If you have changed your address, job, or even your name it is possible that you will have multiple superannuation accounts. Sunsuper general manager of customer experience Teifi Whatley says that most Australians have at least 3 super accounts.
Consolidation is the key with regards to superfluous accounts. Having your super spread across several funds means that you are likely compounding the effect of any fixed fees. Besides the monetary disadvantages, it is also much easier to keep track of your retirement savings when they are in one account.

So what can you do to reclaim any superannuation funds that you may have lost contact with over the course of your career?

Step 1:
Visit the ATO website and use their SuperSeeker to tool to search for lost accounts.
https://www.ato.gov.au/calculators-and-tools/superseeker/ 
Being the forward-thinking and up-to-date department that it is, the ATO has also developed a SuperSeeker app that can be found the App Store.

Step 2:
Contact your previous employers to find more information regarding your former super funds. Once located, you will be able to consolidate these with your current accounts.

Step 3:
If you are able to recall which fund you may have an account with, you can use the government’s Super Fund Lookup tool to find the details of the fund. Most funds will be happy to help you locate any funds held with them.
http://superfundlookup.gov.au/ 

Step 4:
Once you have recovered your lost super, you are able to make decisions regarding where to invest to best provide benefits for your retirement. If you require guidance with this, the financial planning team at CNS Financial Solutions would be happy to arrange a meeting and discuss industry, retail, and Self-Managed Super Funds.