![]() "We choose items that typically have not been touched in about 10 years and that would make an interesting gift." "We hold these auctions when we need additional space in our vault," said Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, whose office oversees unclaimed property in Illinois. The above video is from a previous report (WLS) - Collectible coins, currency, fine silver and jewelry are among the more than 200 unclaimed property items to be auctioned online from May 1 through 5. Outside of the SEC, don’t fall for solicitations that promise to find your money for a fee.SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Stock certificates: Unlike other means of claiming money at no cost, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges for resources that research old stock certificates. Department of Housing and Urban Development: If you had a HUD/FHA insured mortgage, you may have a refund on part of your insurance premium or a share of the earnings. If you have several bonds squirreled away somewhere, check the database-U.S. savings bonds: More than 45 million matured savings bonds, worth nearly $16 billion, remain unredeemed, according to the U.S. If you are a survivor of someone who should be drawing a pension but isn’t, you can find it there as well. database helps ferret out any pension benefits you’re owed, say, if your specific pension plan no longer exists. Pension money: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. If this is you, check out the IRS’s “Where’s my refund?” tool. In 2011, the IRS held $153.3 million in undeliverable refund checks. Tax refunds: Many people are so mobile that their tax refunds end up undeliverable, and taxpayers forget to check on the refunds’ whereabouts. My point? We simply don’t know where unclaimed money can turn up. Incidentally, I recently received a benefit letter from an insurance company regarding a life insurance policy held by my mother, now deceased for 25 years. ![]() Life insurance: For benefits not held by the state, check the insurer’s site directly. Though the vast majority of unclaimed money is held by the states-and claims can be made in perpetuity-there are also other places to search for your jackpot: This includes money from inactive savings accounts, forgotten pension benefits, unpaid wages, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, bill overpayments, paid-up life insurance policies and safety deposit box contents. The database updates every Sunday, so by Monday your new search can begin.Ī recent article from MSNMoney indicates that all combined, states, federal agencies and other organizations held a whopping $58 billion in unclaimed cash and benefits separated from rightful owners for at least five years. Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford suggests logging in at least once a month, which stands to reason, since 200,000 properties were added in the first-quarter of 2013 alone. In April, the state of Illinois released a press release suggesting that checking I-Cash once a year wasn’t enough because the state is constantly adding new properties to the list. citizens in 2011, a measly 6 percent of total unclaimed funds. According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, which lets you search for money state by state at $2.25 billion in unclaimed funds were returned by states to 2.5 million U.S. I did what was required and several weeks later collected enough for two vente Starbucks! Disappointing as the paltry $7.75 due me from a former employer was, it could have been $775. Once learning from the site that I was due money (it didn’t say how much), the state sent a letter with the amount and instructed me on the next steps. In fact, one in eight Illinoisans is owed “forgotten” money. Admittedly, the prospects of finding riches unknown to me simply by querying the State of Illinois Unclaimed Property Division was somewhat exhilarating.
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