Billions of dollars in unclaimed assets are now being held across the US, and one state is pushing to let people know about it.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis says the state is now holding a staggering $2.7 billion on behalf of its residents, reports the ABC-affiliated news station WFTV.
“The state defines ‘unclaimed property’ as a financial asset that is unknown or lost, or has been left inactive, unclaimed or abandoned by its owner.
The most common types of unclaimed property are dormant bank accounts, unclaimed insurance proceeds, stocks, dividends, uncashed checks, deposits, credit balances and refunds, the Florida Department of Financial Services said.”
Florida has launched its own platform to help people find their unclaimed assets.
In addition, the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators has a site dedicated to unclaimed property, and the organization says it’s helped 10’s of millions of people track down more than $4 trillion in assets.
A significant amount of money is also in forgotten 401(k) accounts, and the financial resource platform Bankrate has outlined a number ofways that people can track them down.
One is to search the Department of Labor’s website, which maintains records of public and private sector businesses that provide employee benefit plans.
Bankrate also recommends people contact their former employer directly and ask human resources to look up whether you took part in a 401(k) plan.
