The front page of this morning's Courier Mail had the headline. 'Superannuation Heist'.

The article discussed the number of very small companies that were failing to pay superannuation benefits to employees.

This is, of course, a real problem for the employees.  The article discussed the effectiveness (or lack of it) or the ATO in chasing up what are often very small amounts - which is a pretty cost ineffective activity. 

The basis of the deception was that employers were filing 'pretend' pay slips that showed superannuation contributions being made, with the contributions not actually being made into their fund.

Probably the best prevention is for employees to keep an eye on their superannuation funds.  Sometimes this can be difficult with funds that only post a statement once a year, however people should not be shy about ringing the relevant funds.  They all have well set up call centres that are used to deal with queries.  Don't lose sight of the fact that you are paying good money to have your superannuation managed, so make sure you are getting your money worth.

Regards,

Scott Francis