Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer Senator Helen Coonan said today that more than $4.7 million worth of superannuation had been recovered since the she launched Unclaimed Super Recovery Initiative last Thursday.
"In just three days, thousands of Australians have seen their retirement nest eggs grow significantly," Senator Coonan said.
"And the good news is that this figure is bound to increase.
"A dedicated website has recorded over 420 000 "hits", while a special hotline set up to help people fund unclaimed superannuation has already received 58 000 calls."
The initiative, which is a joint effort between the Australian Taxation Office and the Superannuation Industry, hopes to reunite as many people as possible with almost $7 billion dollars worth of unclaimed super.
"One in three working Australians have "lost" super accounts on the Tax Office Lost Members' Register with an average balance of $1600," Senator Coonan said.
"It is so important that we try to unite these people with their money, like the more than 12,000 Australians who have already found money through the initiative.
"While the sites at shopping centres in capital cities around the nation are no longer operating, people can still search for their unclaimed super by calling the special hotline - 1300 737 736, 24 hours a day until 30 November or visiting the special website at www.unclaimedsuper.com.au ."
"It costs nothing to search for your "lost" super and although amounts recovered may, at first, appear modest to some, the effect of compound interest means it will significantly boost a person's superannuation benefit on retirement."
Over the first three days of the initiative, 12 708 searches resulted in 3028 accounts worth almost $5 million being reunited with their rightful owners.
Senator Coonan congratulated the superannuation industry and the Australian Tax Office for their hard work and commitment to reuniting Australians with their superannuation.