The pool of lost or unclaimed superannuation now exceeds $20.8 billion, according to fresh data released today by the Australian Taxation Office.

Key points: The ATO has so far managed to reunite $1.4b to more than 800,000 accounts, a small proportion of the $20.8b still unclaimed

The ATO has so far managed to reunite $1.4b to more than 800,000 accounts, a small proportion of the $20.8b still unclaimed One retiree will receive a $1.5 million account she had lost touch with

One retiree will receive a $1.5 million account she had lost touch with Most accounts are lost through changing jobs, working overseas or by moving home

Under new legislation, the Tax Office is working to reunite Australians with missing parts of their retirement nest eggs that remain dormant and unclaimed through job changes, working overseas or by simply moving home.

Last year alone, more than 540,000 active, lost and unclaimed super accounts worth $4.4 billion were recovered and consolidated into active accounts through data matching and pressure on super funds to declare inactive accounts.

ATO assistant commissioner Graham Whyte said that, for some Australians, the super windfall has been life-changing, especially those with uncertain retirement plans.

"One woman aged 68 will be directly paid over $1.5 million that was unclaimed and she'd lost touch with," Mr Whyte said.

"Another woman was previously reunited with over $600,000 of unclaimed super after losing her home in a bushfire. As she was over 65, we were able to pay that money directly to her and she is now able to use this money to rebuild her life.

Sorry, this audio has expired ATO reports $20.8 billion in lost superannuation waiting to be claimed

"In this case, it wasn't until the woman reached out to us that she realised she had so much super. That's why it's great that we can now start proactively reuniting people with their super that they might not know about."

In a state by state breakdown, the ATO found that residents in New South Wales were missing out on $6 billion in superannuation, followed by Victoria ($4.7 billion), Western Australia ($2.2 billion), Queensland ($2.8 billion), South Australia ($1.4 billion) and Tasmania ($404 million).

Lost super bonanza by postcode

Ranking Postcode State Number of accounts Value 1 2170: Liverpool & surrounds NSW 13,251 $81,085,282 2 3030: Werribee & surrounds Vic 9,966 $72,114,112 3 2560: Campbelltown & surrounds NSW 11,004 $63,231,975 4 2145: Westmead & surrounds NSW 8,807 $60,764,352 5 3977: Cranbourne & surrounds Vic 10,126 $58,918,901 6 3029: Hoppers Crossing & surrounds Vic 8,883 $57,248,692 7 2026: Bondi & surrounds NSW 8,105 $56,000,248 8 2000: Sydney CBD NSW 8,295 $55,984,758 9 2010: Surry Hills & Darlinghurst NSW 7,493 $55,732,148 10 2148: Blacktown & surrounds NSW 8,416 $52,838,249

Source: ATO Note: Top 10 postcodes ranked by the number of lost and unclaimed super account values as at 30 June 2019

New laws to consolidate super

Under the new laws, superannuation funds must report inactive and low balance accounts to the ATO, including accounts that have not received a contribution for 16 months with a balance below $6,000.

So far, the ATO has reunited 841,000 accounts worth $1.38 billion, with $1.22 billion transferred into active super accounts and $161 million to individual bank accounts.

Individuals can also search to see whether they have lost super by accessing their MyGov account.

The action by the ATO to recover lost super comes as employers confront a backlash from workers, unions and regulators in cases where superannuation has been either deliberately or inadvertently withheld.

The focus on worker entitlements is also intensifying after underpayments by Woolworths, Wesfarmers, Qantas, the Commonwealth Bank, Super Retail Group, Michael Hill Jewellers and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.