It looks like the unclaimed fund balances have recently been updated by each
State, federal and other organization as required in the United States as a new
figure is being quoted for the total held. Ready....?
The new estimated value for unclaimed
property is now ...$58 Billion.
Again, sad but true. That's a lot of
money as it works out to approximately $186 per resident of the US. Imagine if that money was all put to use in the economy.
The list of assets included in what the US defines as unclaimed (or
abandoned) property (or sometimes referred to as unclaimed assets or unclaimed funds) is quite wide
ranging in the US and actually getting wider.
Common forms of unclaimed property in the US includes savings or chequing
accounts, stocks, uncashed dividends or payroll checks, refunds, traveler's
checks, trust distributions, unredeemed money orders or gift certificate/cards
(in some states), insurance payments or refunds and life insurance policies,
annuities, certificates of deposit, customer overpayments, utility security deposits,
mineral royalty payments, and contents of safety deposit boxes.
Here's some further detail on this $58 Billion estimate:
·
$300 Million in pension benefits from employment owed to 38,000
individuals
·
$16 Billion worth of matured US savings bonds (more than 45 million
bonds)
·
$153.3 Million in tax refunds that were not deliverable by the IRS
·
$1 Billion in unclaimed insurance policy proceeds
·
$41.7 Billion in unclaimed funds held by individual states.
This last figure of $41.7 Billion is worthy of some further explanation. .
While rules vary slightly between each state, specific types of
property are considered as being ‘abandoned’ or unclaimed when there has been
no activity for 1-5 years. At that point, all financial organizations or any
organization holding such property or funds are required to turn them over to
the State Treasury.
Each state then takes over the search for owners through websites,
newspaper ads, and booths at Malls and events like State fairs and Exhibitions.
While searching for the owners, the State can use those assets to fund
government operations but the owner’s claim to the property remains intact. Of
the $58 Billion in unclaimed funds that has been reported, $41.7 Billion is
being held by individual States. .
"The money
belongs to the owner in perpetuity. Even if the owner dies, then their heirs
could come back and claim it," said Carolyn Atkinson, West Virginia's
deputy treasurer for unclaimed property and a past president of National
Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.
More on this story:
To learn more about the National Association of Unclaimed Property
Administrators and for a link to all State databases : NAUPA Website
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