Millions of Australians will get a cash injection of lost superannuation from Australian Tax Office

Christmas will come early for millions of Australians with a surprise cash boost to their accounts next month.

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) will transfer millions in lost superannuation into the bank accounts of one million people next month, while another 1.6million will receive a boost to their active super accounts.

Those with less than $200 in an inactive super fund, or are aged over 65, will have the cash transferred directly to their bank accounts.

For those with balances between $200 and $6,000, the ATO will automatically transfer the money to their active super fund.

Superannuation accounts of more than $6,000 will not be automatically transferred. 

The welcome cash boost for many Australians is the result of recent changes to superannuation laws. 

The ATO recently began collecting lost money from superannuation companies and will begin transferring the funds to accounts from November 1.

The process is expected to be completed by the end of November and only applies to lost super under $6000.

‘If a member has more than $6,000 in a lost account it is not an ”inactive low balance account”, however, it may satisfy other categories of unclaimed super monies,’ an ATO spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.

‘It will then be required to be transferred to the ATO. Once it has been received by the ATO, we will attempt to proactively reunite it to an active account.’

Australians with under $200 in lost super or are aged over 65, will see a cash boost in their bank account in the coming weeks (stock image)

Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia deputy chief executive Glen McCrea sees the recent changes as an opportunity for Australians ‘to engage with their super.’

‘For many Australians, it’s the second biggest asset outside the family home,’ he said.

He added the ATO could also pay interest on super amounts.

‘On higher balances that have been held by the ATO for some years, this interest amount can be substantial,’ Mr McCrea said. 

He estimates more than 10,000 transactions will involve cash amounts in the tens of thousands of dollars.

At least 2.6 million Australians will soon be reunited with lost superannuation (stock image)

The ATO had around $3.9billion from holding five million super accounts as of June 30, 2019.

The ATO hopes to notify as many people as possible about their upcoming cash boost.

‘The balance of your inactive low-balance account will be transferred to us by your fund and where possible, we will proactively consolidate it into an active super account,’ the ATO spokeswoman said.

Australians can also reunite with their lost and unclaimed super through ATO Online via myGov.