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| Isa (Photo credit: cocoate.com) |
- ISA
- Are you making the most of your ISA allowance? Halifax offers two types of ISA - cash ISAs and stocks & shares ISAs.
- Cash ISA
- Savings
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| Isa TK+ (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
An
estimated $32 billion in bank accounts, mortgage refunds, tax rebates
and other types of property are left unclaimed, while many consumers are
totally unaware that they have a claim to some of it. While you may
simply assume that there’s no lost treasure in your future, it costs
nothing to check and many people have been pleasantly surprised to
discover they do have a property or money claim.Locating unclaimed property doesn’t require the skills of a detective or even cost a finder’s fee or a percentage of the unclaimed money. Search without using your Social Security Number or needing to know any account numbers; simply search by name and verify the property with your corresponding address.
Start with the States
The first place to look is with any state you’ve resided, as most unclaimed money, like the contents of abandoned safety deposit boxes, uncashed overtime checks and unrefunded apartment security deposits, is held by the state in which it was last deposited. Institutions that handle peoples’ money are required by law to turn any unclaimed funds over to the state for safe-keeping.
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) is a non-profit organization affiliated with the National Association of State Treasurers and the Council of State Governments. They provide links for unclaimed money departments of all 50 states and Washington D.C. to help in your search. In addition to states in which you’ve lived, it needs to be noted that in some instances unclaimed money is held by the state where the business is headquartered. If there’s chance you may have lost track of money, you could look up where the company is based and search that state.
Federal Bonds and Tax Refunds
With savings bonds taking 30+ years to mature, it’s understandable how you could lose track of purchases you may have made that long ago. The Treasury Department's Bureau of Public Debt is holding billions of dollars worth mature, unredeemed savings bonds. TreasuryDirect is a financial services website that lets you buy and redeem securities directly from the U.S. Department of the Treasury in paperless electronic form. Use the site to search for forgotten bonds that are no longer earning interest. Use your Social Security Number or check the number of the person who gifted it to you. If you find a bond in your name, you can then begin the claims process right online.
Digging Deeper
Less common places to look that may be holding your unclaimed property include your city, county, town or village. You’ll need to be your own sleuth to find local information.
• If you were a customer of a failed bank, you can check for deposits that were never returned by visiting the FDIC.
• In the same way, the National Credit Union Administration website is where credit union customers can search for forgotten money.
• Were you expecting a tax refund that never arrived? According to the IRS, nearly 112 thousand Americans did not receive their refund checks for a total of over $16 million. The IRS now provides a "Where's my Refund?" feature on its website. You can look up your missing check by entering the amount you are owed, plus your Social Security number.
• Own a FHA-insured home mortgage? This is one case where there is an expiration date, so visit the HUD website to search your name or your FHA case number.
• Private pensions not received can be tracked down thanks to a little known federal agency, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
About The Author: Noreen Ruth writes for ASAP credit tips blog and several popular finance websites. She is interested in educating consumers about using credit responsibly and about legislative action that will affect their ability to borrow the money they need. She has contributed hundreds of articles to various online sites that provide content to educate consumers on how to compare credit cards, debt relief services, loans and other finance related topics.
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