Millions in lost super owed to Western Australians

24/10/02
The State Government has made a plea for Western Australians to come forward to recover hundreds of millions in unclaimed superannuation.
Deputy Premier and Treasurer Eric Ripper said there were 408,000 WA superannuation accounts - worth $618million - belonging to 'lost' members.
Mr Ripper said an unclaimed super expo at Innaloo Shopping Centre over the next two days (October 25 and 26) would allow people to search for lost funds.
"Many people change jobs, change their name or move house without advising their superannuation fund. All of this unclaimed super - $6.9billion nationwide - gets recorded on a Lost Member Register," he said.
"It's estimated that about one in three Australians has some lost super."
Mr Ripper said a free search service was available to assist people to recover their lost superannuation and transfer it, where possible, into their current super fund.
"A simple search will determine whether thousands of Western Australians have an additional retirement nest egg," he said.
"They may not even realise they had a superannuation account, so it's worth checking the register.
"There are 36 WA-based superannuation funds which have reported lost members. But no matter where you have lived and worked in Australia, your details can be located on the national register."
Mr Ripper said Western Australians could drop in to the expo at Innaloo Shopping Centre (October 25 and 26), call for a brochure on 1300 737 736 or visit the website at http://www.unclaimedsuper.com.au before November 30, 2002.
Deputy Premier's office: 9222 8788