Show Me the Money: How to Find Unclaimed Assets

From forgotten 401(k)s and bank accounts to safe deposit boxes, you could be entitled to a lot of cash

Laura Petrecca,

AARP

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Published December 27, 2024

Need a little extra spending cash? Perhaps some funds to pad your retirement account or emergency fund?

For many, there is a relatively easy way to get some extra money — and it doesn’t involve a lottery ticket. The way to your windfall: unclaimed assets.

These are funds or property that belong to you but you might have forgotten about, or not even realized you owned. There’s a wide range of potential unclaimed assets, from a Treasury bond you got for your middle-school graduation to a utility rebate from your last home to a forgotten 401(k) from a past job to jewelry you accidentally left in a safe deposit box. You could even be the unknowing recipient of a friend's or relative’s life insurance policy.

State governments and federal agencies save assets like these for you, often indefinitely, and return them when you submit documentation that you are the rightful owner.

Unclaimed Assets by the Numbers

$5.4 billion: Total assets returned to rightful owners by states from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023.

$2,080: The average claim on MissingMoney.com.

1 in 7: The approximate number of Americans who have unclaimed assets.

3 to 5 years: The typical dormancy period after which an asset is deemed unclaimed.

$6.3 million: The amount one lucky person got from filing a recent claim.

Older Americans are more apt to have unclaimed assets, as they’ve had ample years to accumulate them — and plenty of time to lose sight of them. In decades past, record keeping was often on easy-to-lose paper. Important mail could get misplaced or end up at a former address.

“More things were done on paper 20, 30 years ago than they are now,” says Carmen Pigler, president of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA). In turn, “there are assets out there that people 50-plus might have just lost track of over the years.”

Amiee Watts, 52, a public relations executive in Bernardsville, New Jersey, learned about unclaimed funds through clients who work in the financial industry. She did an online search and discovered she was owed a total of $1,200 from several states.

“Life gets busy, especially with job changes, so I thought there could be something I missed,” says Watts, whose recovered funds included an old 401(k), tax refunds and an uncashed paycheck. “I’m glad I took the time to look. It was quick and well worth it.”

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About one in every seven Americans has unclaimed cash or property, according to NAUPA. States returned more than $5.4 billion to their rightful owners from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. Some folks even reaped millions of dollars.

Inspired to give it a shot? Here's what to do.

Settle in for some online sleuthing

There isn’t one central database for all unclaimed funds and property. To do a thorough search, you’ll need to check a few places:

Go to MissingMoney.com to find unclaimed property in states where you’ve lived or worked. You can search 49 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico in one shot. The site, which is endorsed by NAUPA and the National Association of State Treasurers, also gives you links and contact information for every state. (Hawaii isn't in the collective database yet, but you can search for assets there by using the direct state link on MissingMoney.com.)
TreasuryHunt.gov is the place to go to look for unclaimed matured savings bonds.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Association sites let you search for unclaimed funds from banks and credit unions that went out of business.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits can help you find abandoned pensions and 401(k) plans. In addition, the newly launched Retirement Savings Lost & Found Database can help you locate unpaid retirement benefits.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development lets you see if you’re eligible for a refund from an FHA-insured mortgage.
The Department of Labor's Workers Owed Wages site helps you recover unpaid earnings.

Stake your claim

The intricacies of the claims process can vary depending on the state or government agency you’re dealing with.

On the state front, you’ll typically need to submit information such as your name, address and Social Security number. You can submit claims via MissingMoney.com for 38 states. For the others, you need to file through their respective state websites.

Once you file, each state has a process to verify you are indeed the rightful owner or heir, meaning you may need to provide additional information to confirm ownership. “Unfortunately, it's not standardized," says Pigler. “There could be different hurdles from state to state.”

John Hunsicker, a real estate executive in Minneapolis, experienced that firsthand. When he searched his name on MissingMoney.com, he came across unclaimed assets in several states. Getting about $350 from the state of Maine was relatively simple, he says. But some other states' requirements — one asked him to submit an affidavit — were “just onerous enough that I couldn't be bothered to fill it out.”

10 Common Types of Unclaimed Assets

Checking or savings accounts
Stocks
Uncashed dividends or payroll checks
Tax refunds
Trust distributions
Certificates of deposit
Customer overpayments
Contents of safe deposit boxes
Insurance payments or refunds
Annuities

The best approach is to contact the unclaimed property office for any state that lists your name to get a clear understanding of what’s needed to get your money, says Darrin Wilson, associate professor of public administration at Northern Kentucky University and a co-author of an academic paper about how states manage unclaimed property.

“From my experience, unclaimed property administrators are fantastic,” he says. “They have great customer service and they want to help you.”

Keep an eye out for scams

While the money hunt can be exciting, be vigilant to steer clear of bad actors, advises Kristi Carlow, director of unclaimed property operations at Kelmar Associates, a company that provides business services and support for government unclaimed property management, including for MissingMoney.com.

Searching and filing for unclaimed funds is free on legitimate websites. Don’t pay anyone upfront if they say they can recover money for you. Also, triple check that you are on the correct website, Carlow says — some scammers create fake sites that mimic legitimate ones.

If you’re unsure or have any questions, contact your state’s official unclaimed property office for guidance.

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Laura Petrecca is a contributing writer for AARP. She has written for USA Today, Real Simple, Digiday’s WorkLife, Kiplinger, AARP, Men’s Health, Worth, Crain’s New York Business and Advertising Age.