Are you hunting for money that may have been lost or completely forgotten? You or a family member may have money left over in an old bank account, a 401(k) from an old employer, or even a hidden stash of money in an IRA, annuity, or pension. This scenario can occur if a family member dies and the heirs cannot find all the accounts. Often, the unclaimed money ends up being sent to a state office.
Surprisingly, 1 in 10 Americans own unclaimed property, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA). More than $4 billion is returned to owners annually, the organization says.
Here’s how to find unclaimed money and where to look for it — all for free!
What is unclaimed money?
Unclaimed money is money that is often simply forgotten in some way and ends up being held by a government agency until properly claimed. Accounts may be considered unclaimed or abandoned within one year (called the dormancy period) if they have not been used or if the institution has not been able to contact the account owner.
After the dormancy period has expired and efforts have been made to find the rightful owner, the institution may declare the funds unclaimed and send the funds to government agencies responsible for the unclaimed funds. As part of this process, the institution must include any identifying information it has.
Financial accounts can often be forgotten, especially during the inheritance process. If not all of a decedent’s accounts are listed during the estate planning process, it can be very easy for an heir to overlook an account. The account can then remain dormant for years, if not decades, accumulating interest, dividends, or capital gains.
Many types of unclaimed accounts exist, including:
- Retirement accounts, such as 401(k), 403(b) and IRAs
- Insurance accounts or annuities
- Unpaid wages
- Pensions of former employers
- FHA insurance reimbursements
- Tax refund
- Forgotten savings bonds
- Accounts of bank or credit union failures
Unclaimed money can also take other forms, so if you know there is money with your name on it (or if you are working on behalf of a family member), you should contact the appropriate authority.
Where to find unclaimed money
The type of unclaimed money may affect the type of database you should search or which government agency you should contact.
“Unfortunately, this is a state-by-state issue,” says Warren Ward, CFP, founder of WWA Planning and Investments in Columbus, Indiana. “I don’t know of any national database.”
So for many types of unclaimed money or property, you’ll need to search your state’s records.
“In Indiana you can come and visit indianaunclaimed.gova site operated by the Attorney General’s office,” Ward said. “It’s actually something we do every year for our customers, but it’s very easy to do for an individual if they care.”
Ward warns of treasure hunters who contact you out of the blue and offer to find lost money for you.
“The claims process is now automated, but we still hear of people ‘surfing’ the database looking for large sums of money and trying to get people to pay to ‘locate’ the money,” he says.
So if someone contacts you about finding unclaimed money, it could be a tip that you have money somewhere. This means that you have to start a search yourself. You can search for free on any of the state websites and you don’t have to pay anyone to find money for you.
5 Free Ways to Find Unclaimed Money
If you think you have unclaimed money or that a family member has, one of the best steps is to review old financial statements to see if you can find evidence of it. This can be useful if the family member has died and you don’t know where to start. If you discover an account such as a 401(k) or IRA, you can contact the plan administrator and go from there.
But often the process is more complicated. These are the next places to go.
1. Check the NAUPA website
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Managers manages a website who can help you organize and search for unclaimed property. It connects you to your own state agency for unclaimed funds, tells you what to look out for and provides a bird’s-eye view of the area.
2. Go to your own government agency’s website
If you know you’re unlikely to have unclaimed money in another state, head straight to your own state’s site and start digging. It’s worth repeating: While some third-party websites say you have to pay, your state’s official website is free to use. So use that.
3. Check out MissingMoney.com
If you’ve lived in multiple states and think you have unclaimed money in more than one state, you may encounter this MissingMoney.com valuable. The site can perform multiple searches simultaneously, a useful feature if you’ve lived in the US or even if you’ve had accounts in other states.
The site is free to use and sponsored by NAUPA.
4. Seeking money from a former employer
You have at least a few ways to track down money from a former employer:
- If you believe you are entitled to back wages, you can contact the Ministry of Labor Database and see if it holds your money. The department will hold unpaid wages for up to three years.
- If you are looking for unclaimed pensions because a company has gone bankrupt or ended a defined benefit scheme, you can contact the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. website. More than 80,000 people have earned a pension but have not applied for it, the organization says.
5. Find bankrupt bank accounts
If your bank goes bankrupt and you haven’t yet claimed your money, you have a number of options:
- You can find unclaimed money from banks that have failed in this regard Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. website.
- If your unclaimed money was held at a failed credit union, you can find it here National Credit Union Administration website.
In short
It’s important to know that there are free resources available for finding unclaimed money, and they are administered by each state. So consult these resources before you even consider working with a third-party site that wants to charge you for their services.
