Does anyone owe you cash? Chances are they do, and you don’t even know it. Here’s everything you need to know about finding unclaimed money from the government.
How much money do you owe to credit card companies or loan collectors? How would you feel if there was a way to significantly increase your savings and take better care of your debt?
Good news – this is possible by finding unclaimed money!
You’d be surprised how much money is being held onto by insurance companies, property managers, and other institutions. It’s not their intention to just keep money from you that’s rightfully yours. But, it’s also not their responsibility to go out their way to track you down.
You have to be the one to figure out how much unclaimed money you have and how to get it back.
This guide can help you do that. Here’s a closer look at where you can find unclaimed money in your name and how you can claim.
5 Places Where Your Unclaimed Money May Be
Your search for unclaimed money doesn’t have to be a mystery. In fact, the money you’re looking for is probably in the places you forgot to look!
Take a second to consider if you ever got the security deposit back from your old apartment or if you received the full reimbursement you expected from an insurance provider. These are just a few of the places where your unclaimed money may be sitting.
Here are 5 of the top resources to look into.
1. Property-Related Deposits and Refunds
It’s kind of hard to forget about a hefty security deposit, but it actually happens more often than you might think. Maybe it happened to you and you didn’t even notice in the midst of all the other things you had to take care of while moving.
Keep in mind that your right to this money doesn’t expire. If reading this just made you think of the security deposit from your very first apartment 3 years ago, you can still get that money back. But, you have to check with that landlord to see if the money is, in fact, yours as there could have been damages and repairs that justify them keeping the funds.
Other property-related sources of unclaimed money include electric companies, internet and cable providers, and your water bills. Some companies require a deposit when turning these services on.
If you were responsible about making payments on time and you canceled the service when you moved out, you should have gotten that deposit back. If you didn’t that’s unclaimed money that can go right in your pocket.
2. Retirement Benefits
Maybe you haven’t entered retirement yet, but you did leave a company who had a retirement plan for their employees. It’s worth searching The National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits to see how much money was withheld for you and is sitting there.
That money is yours even though you’re no longer an employee of the company who saved it for you. Now it’s just up to you to claim it!
3. Life Insurance Plans
There are a few different ways you may have access to unclaimed funds from life insurance companies.
The first is if you recently had a close family member pass away and you didn’t notify their life insurance provider. You may be a beneficiary in their plan, which means the money that the deceased had invested could be yours now.
Another way to get money from a life insurance provider is to inquire about your options to buy stock or receive compensation if your provider has recently gone public. It’s worth looking into even if you don’t know much about investments.
Lastly, get an audit done on life insurance companies that either you or someone you were a beneficiary of invested in. This is a more complicated way to find unclaimed money but it can pay off in the long-run.
4. The IRS
Up next on the list is the IRS. If you moved during tax season or shortly after, your refund check could have been sent to your old address instead of your new one. It’s not the IRS’s job or the Post Office’s to track you down, though. They have so many things to take care of that they won’t go out of their way to find your new address no matter how much money is owed.
5. In Your Family’s Name
The final way to find unclaimed money that’s available to you is to look for it in the name of close family members. You never know how much money was left unclaimed by your grandparents or parents who have already passed.
Even if they’re still alive, helping your family members learn more about finding unclaimed money could mean they slide some money your way once it’s been found and claimed.
Finding Unclaimed Money and Accessing It
Speaking of claiming the money that’s rightfully yours (or of someone you know), keep in mind that there’s a process to go through once you realize the money that’s out there. You can’t just find it and deposit it right away.
The basic process for finding unclaimed money and getting access to it looks a little like this:
1. Search Everywhere You Can
The best way to find unclaimed money is to do an extensive search process. The list above doesn’t include every single place where your money may be hiding, and it’s worth to double-check some of those resources just to be sure.
Other good places to look include past/current credit card accounts, as well as the chance to refinance your mortgage, car loan, or student debt payments. These are more focused on saving you money than giving you unclaimed funds, but they still end up with more money in your pocket to do with as you please.
2. Make Contact Right Away
Once you find your unclaimed money you have to contact the respective office right away. Make the time to call the IRS office in your area/region or to show up at the management office of your old apartment complex. These aren’t the most exciting errands to do, but they speed up the process for you to get your money.
3. Keep Track of All Your Claims
Claiming your money takes time. There’s bound to be a waiting process from when you first make your claim until all the funds are processed, so it’s smart to keep track of everything.
Tracking your claims ensures you get the money that’s owed to you in full. It helps you see how the insurance company is coming along to pay you everything that’s owed and it reminds you to try again when a deposit you’ve been waiting on hasn’t come through.
More Money-Making Ideas and Insights
The thing about finding unclaimed money is that it’s not a guarantee. There may not be any money for you to claim out there, and the funds you can claim won’t necessarily fix all of your financial problems.
The only way to do that is to educate yourself on personal finance and how to manage your money better. If you want some help figuring it all out, click here.
