How to Consolidate Your Superannuation the Easy Way

If you’ve never really bothered paying attention to how many superannuation funds you have, now’s a good time to start.

The younger you are, the less likely you are to be greatly concerned with your super. It’s a distant pot of money you receive after a lifetime of work.

But each time you get a new job, you can choose between selecting your own super fund or letting your employer choose it for you.

Some people, especially during their first few jobs, will likely choose the latter out of ease. Depending on how many jobs you had in your lifetime, this means you could have little pockets of money across a number of funds eating away at your earnings with exorbitant yearly fees.

Thankfully, there’s a simple way to get it all sorted out if you want to pop all your money into one place.

Why should I consolidate my superannuation funds?

As the government’s MoneySmart points out, there’s a fairly logical reason behind having one primary super fund.

As mentioned, you only pay one set of fees rather than multiple across accounts but having less paperwork and keeping track of a single super balance makes a lot of sense too.

It’s always a good idea to do your research and figure out which super fund has the best reputation and features.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), a regulatory body, releases reports that explain which super funds have been performing well and which ones often don’t.

Things to consider before consolidating

While consolidating your super money will probably serve you better in the long run, there are a few things you should check on before pulling the pin on your previous accounts.

Here are some notes as per MoneySmart:

• Check that you don’t have any insurance tied up in your old super fund (like health insurance, income protection etc) before switching out.
• If you change funds make sure to give the details to your employer so they can pay super into your chosen account.
• Check your type of super fund. Some funds won’t let you rejoin if you choose to leave.

How do I put them all together?

Changes made in recent years at the ATO mean all of a person’s superannuation funds would become visible on the ATO section of their MyGov account.

To see yours, sign in to your MyGov account and head to the Super tab. Click on ‘Manage’ and then choose ‘Transfer super’. This will give you the option to empty one super piggy bank into another.

This is the simplest and easiest way to complete the whole process but, if you want some alternative options, you can also contact your new fund directly and ask to consolidate or use an ATO rollover form.

It’s as simple as that. The hard part is really thinking about which one is going to serve you best and whether you should be contributing more to it.

This article has been updated since its original publish date.