Billions of super is going unpaid. Here’s what to check in your account

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Workers continue to be ripped off billions of dollars a year in unpaid compulsory super payments, leaving them worse off and robbed of valuable income for their retirement years.

Almost $684 million in unpaid super was deposited in the super accounts of about 485,000 employees during 2022-23, including super owed in the 2022-23 year, as well as super owed from previous years.

Hayriye Uluca, a principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, says it is important to check that your super entitlements have been paid.

It included where employers voluntarily made good on their unpaid super, where employees tipped off the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and where the ATO initiated compliance action.

However, there is plenty more super that is owed but still unpaid. For the 2020-21 year, the latest available, the ATO put the super shortfall at about $3.6 billion, or just over 5 per cent of the total amount of super that should have been paid that year.

Unpaid super disproportionately affects younger workers, many of whom work in casual and part-time roles. It is also more prevalent among lower-paid workers, including a high proportion of women.

All employees are eligible for super, including those who work part-time or casual. Workers under 18 are only eligible for super if they work more than 30 hours in a week.

Hayriye Uluca, a principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, says the consequences of not being paid super can be more dire than having less money in retirement, as bad as that is.

Fund members aged over 25 will usually automatically receive life insurance through their fund. “If your employer doesn’t pay your super, or it doesn’t pay it on time, you could lose automatic insurance cover for total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance,” Uluca says.

Fund members aged over 25 will usually receive automatic death cover, as well as TPD cover, while some will also have income protection cover, which can also lapse if your super is not paid, she says.

The death benefit can be accessed if your life expectancy is less than two years, as certified by two specialists in the relevant area, Uluca says.

Employees’ payslips will often show that super has been paid. However, that does not mean the contributions have actually been received by your super fund at the time you are paid your wages. That is because employers only have to make the payments to super funds each quarter.

“It’s important for fund members to actively check with their fund that contributions are being received by their employer and are being paid to the fund on time,” she says.

That includes checking that you are receiving the automatic rise in superannuation that took effect from July 1 this year, when the rate increased from 10.5 per cent of ordinary earnings to 11 per cent.

It will continue to increase by 0.5 percentage points on July 1 each year until it reaches 12 per cent in 2025.

Workers covered by awards and enterprise agreements will see their wages unchanged, as their employers absorb the cost of higher super; however, some of those on individual contracts may see their pay fall.

From mid-2026, employers will have to pay super to their employees’ super funds at the same time they are paid, making it easier for employees to keep track of their super and reduce the chances of insurance coverage lapsing. It will also assist the ATO in monitoring compliance in real time.

After checking with your fund and employer, the issue can be raised with the ATO, including anonymously, if you are concerned about raising it with your employer.

ATO deputy commissioner Emma Rosenzweig says the tax office encourages employees to get in touch as soon as possible if they believe they are not being paid their eligible super.

“We review and respond to every notification of unpaid super received from an employee,” Rosenzweig says.

“This process can take some time, and we can’t promise we’ll be able to recover all your unpaid super, but we’ll do our best and keep you updated along the way,” she says.

If workers suspect they are not being paid their full super contributions, they can follow the steps at ato.gov.au/reportunpaidsuper.

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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