Consolidate your super

Transferring, consolidating, rolling over - they all add up to saving you money

If you're like most people, you've probably had different jobs and worked for different employers over the years. It means you might also have different super accounts out there - some you might have completely forgotten about. The problem is, they could all be charging you fees which are eating into your retirement savings. The answer is to consolidate all your superannuation into one account.

What is super consolidation?

Super consolidation is something to consider for anyone with more than one super account. It can be a smart move that sees you find and transfer all your different super accounts into one account. That way you're only paying one set of fees and only dealing with one super fund.

Is it better to consolidate super?

That's up to you, but the benefits include only paying one set of super fees, and handling one set of paperwork - it's also easy to find and transfer super - even lost super - into one account.

Anything to check before I transfer?

Before you transfer your super into one consolidated account, there are a few things related to insurance that you might need to consider:

• think about whether you want to or can transfer your existing cover, otherwise it could be cancelled
• if you have pre-existing health conditions, check how it could affect your new cover
• make sure the new cover you will have meets your needs
• check if there are any other benefits that you value that you may lose. 

Why do these things matter? Well, all super funds are different...

Prime Super insurance will look after you

Different funds have different policies with regards to their insurance. Most will offer Income Protection insurance and Death & Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) insurance, however not all funds will cover you to age 70, or for terminal illness, or allow you to have death only cover.

But Prime Super does!

How do I find lost super?

If you think you might have multiple super accounts - even from many years ago - you can check these via the ATO, either:

a. through your MyGov account (if it is linked to the ATO), or
b. by completing the Lost Super form and sending to the ATO, or
c. calling the ATO's automated Lost Super Search line on 13 28 65

You'll then be given a list of all super accounts in your name, and how much they contain. If an account balance was running low, it may have been transferred to the ATO to look after. If that's the case, you'll need to set up a myGov account or have your existing account linked to the ATO, before you can transfer it.

Is there a fee to transfer super?

No, there are no fees to transfer super between super funds in Australia. Not only is there no cost to consolidate super, but it can also save you time and money with only one set of fees, which means more income for you in retirement.