Unclaimed property is money, accounts, or assets that legally belong to an owner who can’t be found by the managing institution. The good news is that if you’re that owner, you can potentially track down and claim those things, possibly even years later.
Here are Five Fast Facts about claiming your unclaimed property:
- 😮How much? Estimates suggest 1 in 10 Americans has unclaimed property out there somewhere, and more than $3 billion is reclaimed by owners each year. Each state handles unclaimed property differently, so what you do to claim it depends on where you live. If you’re living in a state of ignorance, they can’t help you.
- 📝Where can I go for general info? The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators runs a website that helps people find their own state's agency and offers cautions for scams. Another website, MissingMoney.com, can run multiple searches at the same time to speed up the process. Who wouldn’t want to find their money faster??
- 💸Where can I go for missing money? You can look for unclaimed back wages at the Department of Labor's online database, or unclaimed money from closed banks at the FDIC website. If you think you are missing a tax refund you can contact the IRS or go to “Where’s My Refund” at the IRS website. Good luck with that last one!
- 👴👵Where can I go for missing benefits? To track down unclaimed pensions, go to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.'s website. For unclaimed retirement accounts, check out the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits website. Better late than never, right?
- 😱Watch out for scammers! - Government agencies can’t legally contact you by phone about unclaimed property. If you do get that kind of call, it’s probably a scam. It’s generally a bad idea to give your personal info to anyone unknown who calls you. JUST SAY NO (and hang up).
🔥Bottom line: Anytime you can bring in extra money is good news! If it’s money that belonged to you in the first place, you’re just bringing it home again! Do your own research, and don’t give anything (money or info) to anyone who contacts you out of the blue. The likelihood of getting your unclaimed property from them is right up there with your reward for helping the Nigerian princess.
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