The Federal Government has introduced legislation before Parliament that will expand the duties of superannuation trustees to consolidate accounts with an aim to reunite people with their misplaced super.

Federal Minister for Superannuation, Bill Shorten, said that the changes in the Tax and Superannuation  Laws Amendment Bill will ensure that trustees who hold multiple accounts for the name member will be obliged to consolidate their funds.

At June 2012 there were almost 32 million superannuation accounts in Australia which is almost three accounts for every worker.

“Consolidating multiple accounts will ensure Australian's retirement savings are not eroded by unnecessary fees and charges. This change has been developed in consultation with industry and demonstrates the Government's commitment to increasing the future retirement savings of Australians,” Mr Shorten said.

Currently, there is no requirement for superfunds to help consolidate their client’s funds, and can lead to members paying unnecessary fees and lose track of their savings.

This Bill implements the Cooper Review recommendation to permit fund trustees to auto-consolidate multiple accumulation accounts.

Following consultation with industry the need to proceed with inter-fund consolidation—consolidation between funds of low balance, lost and inactive accounts into a member's active account— will be reviewed in late 2014.