Multiple super accounts¶

It is easy to end up with more than one super account. Every time you start a new job, a new account can be opened for you — and before you know it, your super is spread across several funds you have half forgotten about.

Having your super in more than one place usually means you pay more than one set of fees. It can also mean more than one insurance premium. Bringing your accounts together into one keeps things simple and can save you money.

In one line

Extra super accounts can mean extra fees and insurance premiums — you can combine them into one through ATO online services in myGov, but check your insurance first.

Why this matters¶

Every super account you hold charges its own fees, and those fees come straight out of your retirement savings. If you have three old accounts, you may be paying three lots of fees for money you are not even watching. Combining accounts puts your super in one place, so it is easier to track and cheaper to hold.

What you will learn¶

How people end up with several super accounts
Why multiple accounts can mean extra fees and insurance premiums
How to combine your accounts through ATO online services in myGov

Understanding the concept¶

For a long time, a new super account was opened each time a person started a new job, unless they told their new employer to use an existing fund. Someone who has changed jobs a few times can easily collect several accounts this way. (Newer rules around a stapled fund now help stop this — that is covered in a sibling lesson.)

The ATO explains that putting all your super in one account means you only pay one set of account fees and charges. It also makes your super easier to keep track of. So there are two reasons to combine: fewer fees, and less to lose sight of.

There can be a second cost too. Many super accounts include insurance, and each account you hold may charge its own premium for that cover. Holding several accounts can mean paying for several policies at once.

The ATO says you can combine your accounts — it calls this transferring or consolidating your super — through ATO online services, which you reach by logging in through myGov. Once you are in, you can see all your super accounts in one list and choose to move them into a single fund.

Check your insurance first

Moneysmart warns that before you combine accounts, you should check whether you will lose any insurance you want to keep. A fund you are about to close may cover you for death, illness, or an injury that stops you working. If you close it, you may lose that cover — so check whether the fund you are keeping offers cover you are happy with before you consolidate.

For accountants & bookkeepers

The ATO surfaces held super accounts through the individual's linked ATO online services in myGov, drawing on fund-reported member data. Consolidation is initiated by the member from that view — the ATO lists each account and the member elects which to transfer. Moneysmart's caution is worth repeating to clients: insurance in super is generally not portable, and cover in an older fund may be hard to replace for members with a health condition or who are older. Frame the insurance check as a step to complete before, not after, the transfer.

Example¶

Sam has changed jobs three times over the years. Each new employer opened a fresh super account, so Sam now has three super accounts sitting in three different funds. Two of them are small and Sam had forgotten they existed, but all three keep charging fees.

Sam logs in to ATO online services through myGov and sees all three accounts listed in one place. Before combining them, Sam checks whether any of the accounts include insurance worth keeping. Once Sam is comfortable with the cover in the fund being kept, Sam moves the other two into that one account. Now Sam pays one set of fees and has a single balance to watch.

Common mistakes¶

Not knowing you have extra accounts — old accounts are easy to forget.
Assuming fees do not matter — several sets of fees quietly reduce your savings.
Closing an account without checking its insurance — you may lose cover you needed.
Thinking a super fund does the combining — you start it yourself through myGov.

How this works in myaccountant¶

In the app — myaccountant is not a super fund and does not combine super accounts for you. That is done through ATO online services in myGov. What myaccountant does do is help you keep super going to one place: when you set up as an employee, you record your chosen fund so your super is paid there. Keeping that one fund up to date is the best way to stop new accounts from opening in the first place.

Key points¶

A new super account can open each time you start a job, so accounts add up.
Each account usually charges its own fees, reducing your savings.
Extra accounts can also mean paying more than one insurance premium.
You combine accounts through ATO online services in myGov.
Check the insurance you might lose before closing any account.
One account means one set of fees and one balance to track.

Learn next¶

General information only — not tax, super or financial advice.

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