Has your Super gone missing in action ?

Do you know where all of your superannuation monies are? Is any of your super "lost"?

Superannuation Funds have thousands of lost member accounts with millions of dollars all without their rightful owner knowing they have these lost monies.

These lost accounts could be incurring fees that they otherwise wouldn't be if they were transferred to a current account or if the amount is under $200 you could even take in cash tax free!

That's right, you may be able to take your super money out in cash even if you are not retired and the total in the account is less than $200.

So what do you need to do to ensure none of your super is lost? Simply perform an online search through Superseeker which is an Australian Taxation Office service. The service is free to use but you do need your tax file number. Do not pay anyone a single cent to find your super, it is so easy to do yourself.

I strongly recommend every Australian who has ever changed jobs, address or name do this search, nothing to lose and who knows there just may be some super out there waiting for you to claim.

Disclaimer: All information provided in this blog is for general information and should not be relied upon for your own personal needs. Please contact your financial adviser or superannuation fund or solicitor for advice on your own individual needs.

Superannuation and Binding Death Benefit Nominations

Superannuation may very well be your biggest asset apart from your family home, so it's important it's included in your estate planning. When a superannuation member dies, the superannuation fund needs to determine to whom to make the benefit to.

The fund's trustee is obliged to pay the benefit to a finanical dependent and if there are none then it may pay to the personal representative.

So who qualifies as a financial dependent:

• A spouse or a defacto spouse
• A former spouse or defacto spouse
• A child under the age of 18 years of age
• Any person who relied on the deceased for financial maintenance at the time of their death, or
• Any person who lived with the deceased in a close personal relationship where one or both of them provided financial and domestic support and personal care.

You've probably advised your superannuation fund trustee (or administrator) to whom you'd like your benefit paid to in the event of your death, however unless you've provided them with a binding death benefit nomination, the benefit could still end up being paid to someone you do not want to receive it eg. an ex partner.

Binding death benefit nominations "bind" the trustee to your nomination thereby taking away any potential problems for your beneficiary. Please note though that binding nominations are only valid for three years and need to be renewed at the expiration of that 3 year period.

By having a binding nomination you can also avoid delays in having the payment made to your dependent as the trustee does not need to contact all potential recipients, they know to whom to make the payment and can process the benefit a lot sooner so your benefit can be helping them with their day to day living costs etc far quicker.

Disclaimer: All information provided in this blog is for general information and should not be relied upon for your own personal needs. Please contact your financial adviser or superannuation administrator or solicitor for your own individual needs.