The top 10 postcodes with the most unclaimed super
Is your postcode 4740, 2010, 3030 or 2026?
If you're a resident of Mackay or the surrounding area, chances are you're one of a few thousand people eligible for a share in $49 million worth of unclaimed super contributions.
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has revealed the ten postcodes across Australia with the highest amounts of unclaimed superannuation.
In the last financial year the ATO assisted individuals to reconcile and consolidate $2.5 billion in lost super. Despite this, $11.7 billion remains idling in lost or inactive super accounts.
2,605 accounts within the 4740 postcode - including Mackay, Mount Pleasant, Haliday Bay, Half Tide Beach and Dunnrock - on Queensland's northeastern coast, recorded the highest amount in unclaimed super, a total $49 million.
Queenslanders hold the top three positions when it comes to unclaimed super, with residents of Cairns and surrounding suburbs (4870) and those in Toowoomba and surrounding areas (4350) eligible to lay claim to more than $94 million in lost super, combined.
Deputy commissioner James O'Halloran suggests people who worked casually while studying or took on multiple part-time gigs in the past can likely discover forgotten superannuation.
"While some people purposefully maintain a number of accounts, a lot of Australians are unaware their hard earned super is unnecessarily being eroded away by fees," he said.
Lost super is considered as such when a fund no longer has the ability to contact an individual and no contributions have been made for five years. All lost member accounts with balances of $4,000 or less are transferred to the ATO and become unclaimed super.
O'Halloran says listing your tax file number with your super fund will make it easier for the tax office to reunite you with your missing money.
Linking your myGov account to ATO online services is also beneficial if considering consolidation or to view your account summaries.
"It’s a great time for Australians to check up on their super, particularly if they plan on logging-in to lodge their own tax return using myTax," O'Halloran says.
It's important to learn how to manage and check your super accounts and find out how much lost super is in your postcode.
| Suburbs | Postcode | State | Number of accounts | $ value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacKay and surrounding areas | 4740 | QLD | 2,605 | $49,256,340.55 |
| Cairns and surrounding areas | 4870 | QLD | 2,903 | $49,101,868.85 |
| Toowoomba and surrounding areas | 4350 | QLD | 2,384 | $45,276,433.24 |
| Liverpool and surrounding areas | 2170 | NSW | 2,120 | $37,714,680.99 |
| Werribee and surrounding areas | 3030 | VIC | 1,742 | $35,531,341.07 |
| Sydney CBD | 2000 | NSW | 1,867 | $35,055,841.48 |
| Surry Hills and surrounding areas | 2010 | NSW | 1,743 | $34,721,863.97 |
| Gladstone and surrounding areas | 4680 | QLD | 1,633 | $33,692,141.19 |
| Bondi and surrounding areas | 2026 | NSW | 1,689 | $32,960,830.35 |
| Campbelltown and surrounding areas | 2560 | NSW | 1,793 | $31,283,983.25 |
Picture: Shutterstock
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