‘Lost’ super is a surprisingly common occurrence, and can occur for a number of reasons. For example, you might undertake a short-term job, have a new super fund created in your name, then move on to another company and forget about that fund. Or you might change contact details, and your super fund may lose track as your details change.
Your account is considered ‘lost’ when your fund makes two written communication attempts to contact you, which are then returned unclaimed.
Super funds are required by Australian tax law to notify the ATO of any lost members, so they will then provide your details to the ATO. Your super balance will be held by the fund until claimed, or it’s consolidated with another eligible super fund.