MONEY SAVER
Your Money, Lost Then Found
A new federal database is designed to reunite people with old 401(k)s and pension plans. It’s only one of several sites where you can find your wayward wealth
Pensions and 401(k)s
Search for lost or missing retirement funds at lostandfound.dol.gov, the U.S. Department of Labor’s new Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database, up and running since the beginning of the year. The nonprofit Pension Rights Center, at pensionrights.org, can connect you with free help if you, your company or your pension plan is located in one of the 30 states served by the U.S. Administration for Community Living’s Pension Counseling and Information Program. Visit pbgc.gov/workers-retirees on the website of the government’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to find unclaimed benefits from private-sector plans that have closed down.
Uncashed Checks and Dormant Accounts
Go to missingmoney.com to search 49 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico for unclaimed property that might be due you. (Search for any of your assets in Hawai’i by using the site’s link to Hawai’i’s registry.) Provided by the National Association of State Treasurers, the site catalogs assets such as uncashed checks from corporations, financial institutions, banks, insurance companies and municipalities, along with the contents of inactive brokerage accounts and unclaimed safe-deposit boxes.
Savings Bonds
At treasuryhunt.gov, operated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, you can find out if you, or a loved one who has died, have a U.S. Savings Bond or other U.S. Treasury security for which proceeds have not been paid. You can also use this to track down missing interest payments on Treasury securities. You’ll need the relevant Social Security number or full name and state.
Back Wages
If the Department of Labor can’t find you after recovering unpaid wages you’re due, you have three years to get in touch with the DOL and request your money. To see if you’re owed any back pay, visit the Workers Owed Wages site at dol.gov/agencies/whd/wow.
Orphaned Bank Accounts
For money left at an FDIC-insured bank that has since failed, visit closedbanks.fdic.gov/funds. Search for “unclaimed deposits” at the National Credit Union Administration’s ncua.gov for accounts at failed credit unions. In early 2025, more than 20 failed credit unions were listed as having held people’s unclaimed funds.
For more about tracking down your unclaimed assets, visit aarp.org/unclaimed.