{"id":547,"date":"2023-06-19T04:15:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=547"},"modified":"2023-06-30T16:53:17","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T23:53:17","slug":"how-to-claim-a-piece-of-33-billion-in-unclaimed-funds-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id547-how-to-claim-a-piece-of-33-billion-in-unclaimed-funds-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Do You Have Unclaimed Money? Here’s How to Find Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Do<\/a>I love finding unclaimed money.<\/p>\n

The other day I was in the mood for a couple of chili cheese dogs, so I decided to stop by my local Wienerschnitzel<\/a> and satisfy my craving.<\/p>\n

As I got to the counter to pay for my food I realized that I still had an old $5 gift certificate tucked behind my business cards.<\/p>\n

Of course, I was ecstatic. After all, rediscovering that worn-out certificate in my wallet was like finding a $5-bill on the ground — and who doesn’t love it when that happens?<\/p>\n

You may unknowingly have a little money hiding right in front of you<\/a> too, although the cash I’m talking about isn’t tucked in a hidden recess within your wallet.<\/p>\n

Approximately 1 in 8 people in the United States unknowingly have money in bygone accounts. So where is it hiding? Lots of places! Usually it’s in forgotten bank accounts. But it’s also comes in the form of bygone income tax refunds, uncashed paychecks, utility deposits, insurance policies, escrow deposits, certificate of deposits, and saving bonds.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, unclaimed property laws in every state instruct companies to turn over those forgotten funds to an appointed official whose job is to help reunite it with you or your heirs.<\/p>\n

According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), more than $2 billion is returned every year from an average of 2.5 million claims. However, that’s just a fraction of the billions still waiting to be returned to their rightful owners today.<\/p>\n

Some of that money might even belong to you!<\/p>\n

How to Determine If You Have Unclaimed Money<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay; so how do you find out if you have unclaimed money out there waiting for you?<\/p>\n

Well, the NAUPA has a free easy-to-use search engine<\/a> to help you determine if there’s any unclaimed money in your name. At their site is a map of the US and Canada; simply click on the state or province you think might have unclaimed money waiting for you.<\/p>\n

Another free site for finding lost money is MissingMoney.com<\/a>. To use it, simply enter your name and one or more of the states you’ve lived in. Then the search engine will begin working its magic.<\/p>\n

Within a few seconds it returns a detailed list of potential matches. The list includes the name, last known address, and source of the unclaimed money. It also includes the amount of unclaimed property in non-specific increments such as “over $100.”<\/p>\n

In order to cast a wider net, I only entered my last name into the search engine. At first, I got really excited when 23 people with my surname popped up. Unfortunately, I wasn’t listed in any of the results; the closest match was for somebody named Lazabo Penzo from San Juan, Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n

Oh well.<\/p>\n

How to Find Unclaimed Retirement Money<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’re a retiree, don’t forget to check websites that track unclaimed 401k plans<\/a>, and unclaimed pension money<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How to Avoid Having Unclaimed Money<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experts suggest that if you want to avoid having unclaimed money, you should always:<\/p>\n