Why 1 in 4 Aussies could be owed $1700

It would amount to around $55,000 come retirement but he doesn’t expect to ever see the money.

The Melbourne metal worker is one of millions of Aussies waiting on an employer to pay what they are legally entitled.

Latest Industry Super Australia (ISA) analysis shows that one in four Australians workers missed out on a total of $5 billion in super last year.

On average, Aussies are owed $1700 in unpaid superannuation, which adds up to tens of thousands in retirement.

Awareness of the problem is chronically low, according to ISA, especially among younger workers and those on lower incomes – groups who are most likely to be ripped off.

Mr Furniss is one of these people. He moved to Western Australia to work as a limestone cutter for about 18 months when he was just 17.

He was working 12-hour shifts six days a week and being paid around $20 an hour. However, he was paid cash in hand and was never paid superannuation.

“At the time, I was young I didn’t know about the ramifications about not getting paid super,” he told news.com.au.

“I was more worried about getting paid my wage as when I ended up terminating my employment, (my employer) owed me a couple of grand in wages.”

The now 32-year-old said he tried to chase up the unpaid money and make his former employer “accountable” but without a contract or pay slips this proved too difficult.

“I think that’s just a bit of an expensive lesson in my life,” he said.

“It was harder when I was younger as we didn’t have the tech today to check super funds and actually had to chase that stuff up.”

Now he is making voluntary contributions to his super and encourages younger staff to check their balances and merge funds from multiple jobs.

Mr Furniss lives out in Melbourne’s west, in the Lalor electorate which is the second worst electorate for unpaid super with more than 27,000 residents impacted.

The unpaid super scourge impacts every corner of Australia, but it is areas with a high proportion of young people and workers in trades that feature most in the list of the worst 20 federal electorates for unpaid super.

The electorate of Sydney tops the list, where 30,000 workers have taken a hit on retirement savings, while 26,000 in the Sydney electorate of Reid are also missing money.

Both the NSW electorates of Mitchell and Barton have 25,000 people each that are impacted by unpaid super, while Holt in Victoria rounds out the top five. Electorates in Western Australia and Queensland are also impacted.

To add to the growing problem, it can often take months for workers to uncover that they have been underpaid, making recovery far more difficult, ISA warned.

Meanwhile, ISA research showed 70 per cent of workers don’t realise super can legally be paid just four times a year, not with their wages – despite what it says on pay slips.

The outdated laws and the lack of awareness among workers is being exploited by some unscrupulous employers who don’t pay super, ISA added.

Bernie Dean, ISA chief executive, said millions of Australians remain unaware they’re being ripped off super they’ve earned, just assuming that it’s paid because it appears on their pay slip.

“Until government fixes the problem by making employers pay super with wages, members need to be aware they could be ripped and take steps to protect their retirement savings,” he said.

“Most employers are doing the right thing, but they are being undercut by dodgy competitors who are ripping people off. Paying super with wages is the only way to get workers their money and level the playing field for business.”

ISA wants it made mandatory for super to be paid with wages to make it much easier for workers to track when payments are made and uncover underpayments quicker — making recovery more likely.

Originally published as Millions of Aussies could be owed $1700 thanks to dodgy employers