Do you know how many superannuation accounts you have? As in, are you really sure that you know how many superannuation accounts you have? There are a lot of reasons you may not know. For instance, if you are old enough to have worked during the time when your employer chose or nominated your superannuation then you should really be checking for an old account floating around. Even now a lot of people were probably put into whatever the “industry” superannuation fund was when they started work at their first job, and they haven’t really thought about that account again.
There is $13.8 billion in unclaimed or lost superannuation as of June 2020, (see here) and I believe that a huge amount of this belongs to Estates. Back in the days of snail mail we would frequently see superannuation statements turn up late in the administration process, after applying for Probate, sometimes after we had started distributing the Estate to the beneficiaries. Now that everything has been forced over to “paperless” statements we don’t see this happening as much. I do not believe that Australians have generally gotten better at record keeping, I believe more superannuation is being missed because the Executor doesn’t know about it.
Assets can change
The thing about assets is that they naturally change over time, as your needs change. If your family don’t have an up to date list of where your assets are at, they might be looking for the wrong type of asset.
If you have combined two smaller superannuation funds into a different fund then this isn’t always easy for your family to figure out. There are more than 500 retail superannuation funds in Australia, the Executor cannot write to all of them. If superannuation has been transferred out, even if the family remembers the original fund, it is not always clear where it went. The superannuation fund you have left probably won’t keep records of where you went. A lot of time can be spent on these searches but also, beneficiaries can be absolutely convinced that a certain fund still exists and the Executor just hasn’t found it yet. Even if you prove that the fund was cashed out this beneficiary can be convinced that it was definitely reinvested in shares or superannuation. This can cause unnecessary stress at at time when there are more important things to focus on.
Find my Super on MyGov
If you are looking for your own superannuation you can to go MyGov and do it almost immediately, certainly this is a less than 20 minutes task. You can find out more about the process here. You should then take a screen shot of the results and save the results wherever you are saving your Estate Planning information. Why? Because you are saving a lot of time and delay for the Executor, as well as implicitly saying to the beneficiaries that you agree with this information. The beneficiaries won’t feel that the information is incomplete, because you have sourced it.
Also, what if you do have a super fund somewhere that you have forgotten about? Wouldn’t it be better to know that now?
Can your Executor do it? The answer used to be no, not at all. There is now a new system where they can do it, but the Executor cannot log into your MyGov and get it virtually immediately, the way that you can. Dealing with the ATO as an Executor is a difficult and time consuming process, starting with posting them a variety of paper documents and having someone at the ATO admit to receiving those documents. Also the ATO will only go back three years for the Executor, I have no idea how that impacts the find my Super process and I cannot find information telling me what that means. Let’s say that this system works though, and it takes them six months after your death to find your superannuation, now that the Executor has found it how much longer will it take your family to receive that superannuation? Help them out, tell them where it is.
a paperless world and a paper based estate
While every organisation is trying to force you to do things in a paperless fashion, often those same organisations (for instance banks, superannuation companies and Telcos) will require an Estate to do everything by paper, by snail mail, with original ink to paper signatures. These systems are not set up to make things easier or simpler for your Estate.
You can reduce so much stress for your family if you could do some homework for them now, and the great thing is that it is all life admin that you really should do anyway. You really should make sure that you have a back up for all your emails and social media accounts, and you really should make sure that you have a list of your accounts and insurance policies (but NOT any passwords) in case you lose your wallet or need to quickly make an insurance claim. You should know how many superannuation accounts you have, like really know, and then know if your BDBN is up to date. Almost all of the things in this list will help you in life, as well as helping your family when you die. You are reducing stress for them, as well as reducing stress for yourself in the future.
Twenty minutes or less
Here are some other things that you could do in 20 minutes or less that will actually provide peace of mind or security for your family, that are free -
Set your legacy contacts on your phone, your emails and your social media - read more here
Go around and check the batteries in all of your smoke alarms, torches, and your radio
Check the places that become fire hazards if they are not cleared out regularly (like lint in the dryer, filters in the fan above your stove, drip trays in any cooking devices)
Start a list of key documents or information that your family might need
Check the tyres on your motor vehicle - read more here
Things that you can do in 20 minutes that are not free (cause DIY Wills are not free) include -
Buy that smoke alarm/fire blanket/fire extinguisher for that spot in the house that you have been thinking about. Do it online and then it is done.
Set up an account with BillWill where you put in all the bills that your family will need to deal with one day, and save them a significant amount of time and money - read more here
Buy a mobile phone holder and charge cord for your car, if you don’t already have one. If you already have one then go and check that it is properly installed, if it is difficult to use when you are driving then figure out a safer alternative.
If you haven’t taken CPR or first aid training recently then do some research and book yourself in for a course. If you have done it find that manual and give yourself a refresher.
So you really should do a proper Estate Plan, with a lawyer, even if that lawyer is not me. If you want a referral for a lawyer who I know who has a lower price than me I am happy to give it. If you want to know more about what is involved in working with me then you could use the Book Now link at the top of the page to book in a free 15 minute Quick Chat, or use the email address at the bottom of the page to reach out.
If you want to know what the cost will be you can find more information about that under the “About” tab but word of warning, you are looking at thousands, not hundreds. I am passionate about proper, in depth Estate Plans, I don’t do Simple Wills.