An Alternative to Digging Between the Couch Cushions

• April 12th 2016

by Nena Perry-Brown

Most people are somewhat astute at keeping track of any money that they might be owed, but a new post from District, Measured shows there is a chance that the average citizen may have more coming to them than they thought.

There is approximately $41.7 billion in unclaimed monies and assets being held nationwide, and according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), this amount has risen 27 percent since 2010. The value of unclaimed assets rose a whopping 89 percent in the District over the past 10 years.

“As of the end of [fiscal year (FY)] 2015, total unclaimed funds in the District amounted to $300 million corresponding to approximately 1.4 million account records”, according to District, Measured.

While it may seem improbable, whenever financial institutions or businesses owe money or some other financial asset to an individual and that person does not collect, the money is considered “unclaimed” and is still owed to that individual. The unclaimed monies could be anything from stock or life insurance payouts to uncashed payroll checks to rental security deposits.

In DC, these unclaimed monies tend to be from uncashed checks and leftover account balances; abandoned employer-based 401(k) accounts are most of the unclaimed monies nationwide. DC claim payments hit a record in FY 2011, when DC residents received $22 million in unclaimed monies, with one resident receiving a record $1.2 million.

To find out if you have unclaimed monies, you can start your search with these websites.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/an_alternative_to_digging_between_the_couch_cushions/11096.