POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Stapling to close 500,000 unwanted super accounts
There has been reduction of 13 million unwanted superannuation accounts since 2015 and numbers are expected to fall by an ongoing 500,000 thanks to stapling.
In a research paper, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) tracked unwanted multiple accounts in the super system and the costs for fund members.
Stapling was one component of the recent Your Future, Your Super measures and meant members were ‘stapled’ to one fund for their whole career unless they opted to change it. This was intended to reduce people holding multiple accounts.
The loss of accounts equated to savings for the super system of around $20 million a year based on a $40 a year marginal cost of a super account.
However, around one million people were likely to continue to have two accounts, regardless of the stapling changes, as their account balances were more than $6,000 which would cause considerable costs if they were sent to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
The number of lost or inactive accounts remained stagnant at around five million accounts, worth $3.6 billion.
Glen McCrea, ASFA deputy chief executive, said: “There is more work to be done to reduce the number of multiple accounts and to address the $3.6 billion in lost and unclaimed super which currently sits with the ATO”.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Laura Dew is editor at Super Review. Prior to joining SR, she spent five years working at Investment Week in the UK covering asset and wealth management.
Recommended for you
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has placed superannuation front and centre in its 2025-26 corporate plan, signalling a period of intensified scrutiny over fund expenditure, governance and member outcomes.
Australian Retirement Trust (ART) has become a substantial shareholder in Tabcorp, taking a stake of just over 5 per cent in the gaming and wagering company.
AustralianSuper CEO Paul Schroder has said the fund will stay globally diversified but could tip more money into Australia if governments speed up decisions and provide clearer, long-term settings – warning any mandated local investment quota would be “a disaster”.
The Super Members Council (SMC) has called for streamlined super reporting to cut costs, boost investment flows, and strengthen retirement outcomes.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
74.26 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
72.60 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
44.46 3 y p.a(%)
4
Pengana High Conviction Equities B
39.12 3 y p.a(%)
5
Pengana High Conviction Equities A
39.05 3 y p.a(%)
