Have you looked for lost or unclaimed money?

According to Australian Taxation Office (ATO) figures, Australia has around $21.5 billion in unclaimed super. If you have spent time overseas, changed your name or changed your job, there's a chance some of this super could be yours.

There are also millions of unclaimed dollars held in states and at federal level. Finding unclaimed money could add up to a significant amount that could help with household expenses, medication and other daily costs, especially as the cost of living rises – or boost your retirement savings.

Here's how to find lost or unclaimed money - and don't forget to share with friends, family or colleagues to help them find it too.

Super is considered lost if a member fits the definition of ‘uncontactable’ or ‘inactive’ over a specific period of time. As a result, superannuation funds must transfer this money to the ATO.

Once your lost super balance is transferred to the ATO, it’s known as unclaimed super. The ATO may try to transfer it to your active super account, if you have one, otherwise it will hold it as unclaimed money.

GESB needs to transfer lost GESB Super and West State Super accounts to the ATO - so it’s important you keep your contact details up to date.

Across Australia there is a significant amount of unclaimed money held at both state and federal levels. This can include lost shares or dividend payments, inactive bank accounts, life insurance, trust money, money from deceased estates, unpaid refunds and overpayment of utility bills and license refunds.

It's estimated that there is more than $270 million in unclaimed Medicare rebates alone - belonging to nearly 1 million Australians who have not registered their bank details with Medicare.

The ATO has reunited around 360,000 Australians with around $600 million in unclaimed super already, but there are still around 7.3 million accounts with unclaimed super. The average amount is around $2,950 and some people have even claimed more than $100,000 to date.¹

Checking whether you have any lost or unclaimed super could be a simple way to grow your super account and add to your retirement savings.

To search for lost super, you can either:

• Log in to your myGov account
• Call the lost super search line on 13 28 65
• Use the ATO app to search for lost super

If you use your myGov account, you can log in to find details of your super accounts. This will include any accounts you have from previous jobs and any accounts held by the ATO because the government, your super fund or your employer couldn’t find an account to transfer your super into.

If you do find lost super, you can combine it into one account. If you're combining it into the account you hold with us, we can help you. This process will generally take around one week.

Please note, West State Super is a closed scheme, so if your West State Super balance is transferred to the ATO, your account will be closed and you can't open another one. If you're a former West State Super member with unclaimed super, you may be able to transfer it back into a GESB Super account, if you still work in the WA public sector - get in touch with us to learn more.

To find out whether you're eligible for other unclaimed money, you can:

• Use the MoneySmart website to find lost shares, bank accounts and life insurance
• Check the WA Government's unclaimed money register for unpaid refunds and overpayments
• Check other state-based unclaimed money registers for unclaimed monies held by state governments

You should also log into myGov and make sure your contact and bank details are up to date across linked services.

There are some simple ways to help you keep track of your super and avoid having lost or unclaimed money in the future:

You could:

• Use Member Online or call your Member Services Centre on 13 43 72 when you need to update your contact details with us (especially if you change address or change your email account)
• Keep your details up to date with government agencies
• Make it a habit to open and take any action requested in letters or emails from us

The more money you have in your nominated super account (including money you have lost and then claimed back), the more you have invested for your future.