Find Unclaimed Money from the Government
If a government office, business, or other source owes you money you have not collected, it’s considered unclaimed. By law, banks, private companies, trust funds, and government agencies, among others, are required to turn over dormant and unclaimed accounts to the local State government after a specific amount of time has passed and efforts to return the funds to its rightful owner have failed.
State-run Government offices hold these assets “as unclaimed funds” indefinitely with the intent of returning it to its rightful owner or heirs. The unclaimed funds held by the state are often from bank accounts, insurance policies, or your state government.
There is no single government database for all unclaimed money. Use each separate database in the links below to search for each type of unclaimed money.
| Search for unclaimed money | Database or agency |
|---|---|
| In your state | Unclaimed money held by a state may be from bank accounts, insurance policies, or the state government.Search for unclaimed money from your state’s unclaimed property office. If you have lived in other states, check their unclaimed property offices, too. |
| Employers | Unpaid Wages – Search the Department of Labor’s database for back pay an employer might owe you. Pensions from Former Employers – Contact the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to search for an unclaimed pension. |
| Unclaimed insurance money | VA Life Insurance Funds – Search the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) database for unclaimed insurance funds.FHA Insurance Refunds – If you had an FHA-insured mortgage, search the HUD database to see if you are eligible for a refund. |
| Tax refunds | Use the IRS Where’s My Refund? search tool if you have not received your tax refund. |
| Investments | SEC enforcement funds – Search the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) database for money from an investment enforcement case. |
| Bank failures | Bank failures – Search the FDIC database for unclaimed funds from closed financial institutions. Credit union failures – Find unclaimed deposits from closed credit unions. |
| Savings bonds | Savings bonds – Use TreasuryHunt.gov to find matured savings bonds that have stopped earning interest. You can also learn how to replace a lost or destroyed savings bond. |
| Bankruptcies | Use the U.S. Courts Unclaimed Funds Locator to search for money you may be owed after a person or business declared bankruptcy. |
| Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts | The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Trust Funds Administration (BTFA) manages Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts for Native American and Alaska Native beneficiaries. Check the Whereabouts Unknown Search Tool to see if you have an unclaimed account. |
There are some companies out there who will charge you a 15% fee to reunite you with your lost assets. However, you can search government websites on your own and for free.
Happy hunting!
Ad
