If you’ve had a few casual jobs, you might have ended up with more than one super fund. This can happen when you start a new job and don’t choose a super fund. To meet their super obligations, your employer may have opened a new fund on your behalf with their default fund.
Stapling in super helps to reduce multiple funds for individuals, but if you’ve had a few different jobs before 1 November 2021, you could still have multiple super funds in your name.
This could mean you are paying duplicate fees, costing you real money. But don’t worry it’s easy to be fixed!
Find your super funds
Student Super makes this really easy
- Log into your account.
- Use the menu to go to “Find or combine my super”.
- Check the “I’m checking for other funds or lost super”. This is a great option if you’re not sure where your super is and would like to do a super search. It’s good practice to do this annually to ensure your super is all in one place.
- Follow the steps to find and if you want, transfer your super funds.
Combine your super funds
Once you find your super funds, you will have the choice to combine them into Student Super. There are a few ways this can be done:
Via myGov – this will be the easiest method if you’re not an Australian citizen or recently changed your name. We have a step-by-step guide to help.
Via Student Super – once you have verified your identity, you can ask us to run a super search. We’ll present you with the results and you can choose which funds you’d like to combine into your Student Super account.
Consider the impact of any loss of insurance cover or other benefits before closing any super fund accounts you may have. If you have chosen to only transfer part of an account balance, the account will remain open and you could still be paying fees.
Why is combining my super funds important?
Stapling in super will mean your super fund will follow you for future jobs.
If you have one super fund, it’s easy for you to know which fund is stapled to you (your one and only fund). Plus, you’ll always know where your super will be paid.
But if you have multiple funds, the ATO will choose based on a specific set of rules. This means, your employer will pay into a fund the ATO chose, not the one you chose.
And it’s as easy as that! Super is your money and it’s yours to control. It’s important to take the steps to keep it organised. And Student Super is here to help you along the way. If you have any questions about finding or combining your super, feel free to contact our Member Services Team.
