# Find Lost Super and Combine Your Accounts > Check myGov for super from old jobs, claim anything the ATO is holding for you and combine your accounts, after checking insurance and fees first. Canonical HTML: https://getclova.com/blog/find-lost-super Clova is an Australian budgeting app. [Join the waitlist](https://getclova.com/) [Home](https://getclova.com/) → [Guides](https://getclova.com/blog) → [Saving](https://getclova.com/blog/topic/saving) → [Find Lost Super and Combine Your Accounts](https://getclova.com/blog/find-lost-super) - Author: Marnix - Published: 2026-10-25 If you've had a few jobs, there's a fair chance one of them left some super behind. A weekend job at 16, a uni job that paid into a different fund, an address that changed and never got updated: each can leave a small account you've forgotten about, still yours, and in some cases still being charged fees. Finding it takes a few minutes in myGov, and nobody needs to be paid to do it for you. What takes a little more care is deciding which accounts to combine. ## Find every account in your name The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) online services, reached through myGov, show every super account reported in your name in one list. Each one is shown with its fund, its latest reported balance and whether it's active, lost or already held by the ATO. 1. **Sign in to myGov and link the ATO** Sign in at [my.gov.au](https://my.gov.au/), or create an account, and link it to the ATO if you haven't yet. Linking asks you to confirm who you are. If you need your tax file number for that, our guide to [finding your tax file number](/blog/tax-file-number) shows where it's printed. 2. **Open Super, then Fund details** In the ATO service, select **Super**, then **Fund details**. The ATO app has the same screen. An account with **Contact fund** beside it is one the fund has lost touch with, and **ATO-held super** is money already sent to the ATO. 3. **Check each balance's date** The balances shown are the ones funds report each 30 June, so they can be months old. A fund's own member statement or online account has the current figure. Here's a made-up example of what that screen can show. Mia, 24, worked at a café during school and a supermarket during uni, and now has an office job. Her list looks something like this. What Mia sees under Super, then Fund details (made-up example, simplified from ATO online services, balances as at 30 June): | Account | Detail | Status | Balance (AUD) | | --- | --- | --- | ---: | | Office job fund | Your employer pays in here | | $6,200 | | Supermarket job fund | Includes insurance | Contact fund | $3,400 | | ATO-held super | From the café job | | $500 | Small inactive accounts often go to the ATO. Others can stay with the old fund, where fees continue. Common paths for inactive super after 16 months without contributions, subject to exceptions: - **Usually sent to the ATO:** under $6,000, inactive and uninsured; the ATO moves it into your active account, if it can; anything it can't move waits for you as ATO-held super. - **Usually stays with the fund:** larger balances or accounts with insurance; fees and any insurance premiums keep coming out; check and combine it yourself. Exceptions apply, including recent changes you made to the account. Source: ATO. If an account you're sure exists isn't listed, your details with that fund may not match the ATO's, for example an old surname or address. The [ATO's lost super page](https://www.ato.gov.au/forms-and-instructions/superannuation-searching-for-lost-superannuation) explains how to search by phone or post instead. ## Check what each account would lose before you combine Combining accounts means you pay one set of fees instead of several, and there's only one balance to keep an eye on. Moving the money closes the old account, though, and anything attached to it ends with it. Check these with each fund before you move anything: - **Insurance.** Many accounts include life, disability or income protection cover, paid from your balance. If you need the cover, have replacement insurance confirmed before closing this account. - **Other costs.** Ask about transaction costs, such as the difference between buying and selling investment units. - **Employer extras.** Some employers pay more into a particular fund, so check before moving away from the one your job pays into. - **Defined benefit accounts.** These work out your benefit by a formula rather than a balance, and some can't be rejoined once you leave. They're uncommon, but if one of yours is labelled defined benefit, get advice before moving it. The account to keep isn't automatically the biggest one. Fees and long-term performance matter more, and the ATO's [YourSuper comparison tool](https://www.ato.gov.au/single-page-applications/yoursuper-comparison-tool) puts basic default accounts side by side. Moneysmart also warns about cold calls and pressure to move super quickly, so take your time with any offer you didn't ask for. ## Move the money into one account ATO-held super is the easy part. In the same ATO service, choose **Super**, then **Manage**, then **Transfer super**, and pick the fund you're keeping. There's no fee for moving ATO-held super into a fund. The ATO also moves amounts of $200 or more into an active account on its own where it can, so you may find some has already been moved. For an old fund you've decided to leave, the same **Transfer super** option moves its whole balance and closes the account. It only appears once you have more than one account. If you'd rather not use myGov, the fund you're keeping can roll the money in for you, or you can use the ATO's paper rollover form. In Mia's case, the café's $500 is showing as ATO-held super, so she moves it herself rather than waiting. Her supermarket job fund still holds $3,400 and includes insurance. She checks the cover, decides she doesn't need it, and transfers that balance too, leaving one account with $10,100 and one set of fees. Last, check where your employer pays. Moving money between funds doesn't change it, so if the account they use is one you closed, give payroll the details of the account you're keeping. Your next [payslip](/blog/payslip-explained) shows the fund it's going to. ## Keep it in one place from here Your existing super account generally follows you to a new job unless you choose another. When you start somewhere new, give payroll your fund's details on the choice form, and update your address with the fund when you move. A yearly look at myGov can help you spot extra accounts. Super is a long-term pot, and one account means any fees you save stay invested and [keep compounding](/blog/how-compound-interest-works) for decades. Once it's all in one place, the guide to [super by age](/blog/super-by-age) shows what balances usually look like at different ages. Everyday money can get scattered the same way, across a transaction account, a savings account and a card. Clova, our budgeting app, connects your bank accounts so your spending, bills and goals sit in one view. Clova is an Australian budgeting app. Join the waitlist and we’ll be in touch. [Join the waitlist](https://getclova.com/) Checking takes less time than most money jobs, and it can turn up money you'd forgotten was yours. Even if you stop after the first two steps, you'll know which accounts the ATO has found. ## A note from us Super is easy to forget because you never see it arrive. We are building Clova to bring your everyday accounts into view. ## Common questions ### Does it cost anything to find lost super? No. You can check for free through myGov or by asking your current super fund, and you don't need to pay anyone to search for you. Moving ATO-held super into a fund is free too, though other transaction costs may apply. ### Can I find my super without myGov? Yes. If you know your tax file number, the ATO's automated super search line on 13 28 65 can tell you which funds hold super for you. Without it, call the ATO on 13 10 20. You can also post the ATO's paper search form or ask your current fund to search for you. ### Why can't I see super I know I have? Usually because your details don't match. If the fund has an old name, address or date of birth for you, the ATO may not connect the account to you. Update your details with both the ATO and the fund, then check again or call the lost super search line. ### Can I take lost super out as cash? Generally not. Super stays in the super system until you meet a condition of release, such as retiring after 60. The ATO does pay unclaimed super straight to you when it's under $200, or if you're 65 or older. ### Will combining my accounts change where my employer pays my super? No. Moving money between funds doesn't tell your employer anything. If the account they pay into is one you're closing, give them the details of the account you're keeping. ## Sources 1. [Keeping track of your super online](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/growing-and-keeping-track-of-your-super/keeping-track-of-your-super/keeping-track-of-your-super-online) · Australian Taxation Office 2. [Searching for lost and unclaimed super](https://www.ato.gov.au/forms-and-instructions/superannuation-searching-for-lost-superannuation) · Australian Taxation Office 3. [ATO-held super](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/growing-and-keeping-track-of-your-super/keeping-track-of-your-super/ato-held-super) · Australian Taxation Office 4. [Inactive low-balance super accounts](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/growing-and-keeping-track-of-your-super/keeping-track-of-your-super/inactive-low-balance-super-accounts) · Australian Taxation Office 5. [Transferring or consolidating your super](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/growing-and-keeping-track-of-your-super/keeping-track-of-your-super/transferring-or-consolidating-your-super) · Australian Taxation Office 6. [YourSuper comparison tool](https://www.ato.gov.au/single-page-applications/yoursuper-comparison-tool) · Australian Taxation Office 7. [Find lost super](https://moneysmart.gov.au/how-super-works/find-lost-super) · ASIC Moneysmart 8. [Consolidating super funds](https://moneysmart.gov.au/how-super-works/consolidating-super-funds) · ASIC Moneysmart ## Related reading - [Super in Your First Job, Explained](https://getclova.com/blog/super-first-job) - [Your first payslip, explained line by line](https://getclova.com/blog/payslip-explained) - [How compound interest works (and how often it compounds)](https://getclova.com/blog/how-compound-interest-works) [Report a correction](https://getclova.com/contact) This guide explains a budgeting method in general terms; it doesn't consider your circumstances.