How to consolidate your super – the basics

Consolidating multiple super accounts means you won’t be paying multiple sets of fees that are eating into your retirement savings.

If you're looking to consolidate, it is quick, easy and (relatively) painless and it can be done in a few easy steps. 

1. Find out where you have super

This is the first but most important step. Thankfully, you won't have to source every payslip you've ever received since you worked at the supermarket down the road as a teenager. If you have a MyGov account, it's as easy as signing in and linking your account to the Australian Tax Office (ATO). 

Once you've done that, you can use the ATO service to find out where you super is being held. You may also have unclaimed super that the ATO is holding for you which you can move into your super fund. 

Alternatively, your super fund may be able to search where you super is held for you. This means you won't need to log into MyGov or the ATO. Log in with your member details or give your fund a call to see if they offer this function. 

2. Choose a superannuation account

This sounds simple enough. But, if you've been working for a few years now and always signed up for your employer's super fund, you will have a few accounts to choose from. You may also want to choose an entirely different super fund to put your money into, so you'll need to research those too. 

Use a comparison website to look at features like:

• fees,
  
  
• investment returns,
  
  
• insurance offerings and
  
  
• what types of investments your super fund makes, if you have a preference on that. 

Important thing to remember before you consolidate your super

Before you start the process of consolidating your super accounts, you need to check if:

• There are any exit or transfer fees that you may be charged.
  
  
• You currently have insurance cover you want to keep. You may be able to transfer that cover into the super fund you choose to consolidate into. It's important to do this before you go ahead and consolidate your fund, otherwise your accounts will be closed and you insurance will be cancelled. 

3. Consolidate your funds using your super fund or MyGov

Now that you have found all of your accounts and picked the one for you, all you need to do is press the button to consolidate.

If you're using your super fund's functionality, it should be one click away to consolidate each fund.

If you're using MyGov and the ATO function, you need to select the fund you're transferring money from and the fund you're transferring to and you'll be all set. 

Think of all the money you'll save in fees by only having one fund!

You're all done! Now you just have to wait for your super to be consolidated. 

If you are looking for a low cost, simple to use super fund, consider Bendigo SmartStart Super - designed to help you retire with more.