Lost mobile phone? OMG! Lost superannuation? Whatever.

A Westpac survey shows 48 per cent of working-age Australians would do “everything they could” to find their lost mobile phone but just a third would be as vigilant about tracking down $2,500 of their missing super.

Westpac retail banking general manager Gai McGrath said the figures reveal widespread apathy about superannuation.

“For someone in their twenties, $2,500 in super today could amount to more than $22,000 by the time they retire,” she said.

“When you put it in these terms, you start to realise how much of an impact this money can have on your financial future.”

Ms McGrath said superannuation funds are usually lost as a result of moving to a different fund when a person changes jobs.

The report showed more evidence of super apathy with 31 per cent of people saying they would prefer to find $200 in cash than $2,000 in lost superannuation.

Nine out of 10 of those surveyed do not know whether they have any superannuation.

Tracking down lost super is as easy as going to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) superseeker website and entering your name and tax file number.

“With $18.2 billion in six million lost and ATO-held super accounts across the country, we have heard amazing stories of people finding tens of thousands of dollars,” Ms McGrath said.

“If the average mobile phone costs around $600 and the average lost super account is more than $2,000, you can see that it makes sense to put as much effort into finding your lost super as you would a lost phone.”

AAP