If your idea of a windfall is finding money under couch cushions or a coin in a parking lot, just wait until you start looking through databases for finding lost or unclaimed money. Chances are, you’ll find it more fun — and possibly far more profitable.
Banks, insurance companies and the U.S. Department of the Treasury — among other organizations — have websites designed to help people find money that never made it to their bank accounts.
If you think you might have let some cash slip through the cracks, here are 11 places to look for it:
1. Former Pension and Retirement Plans
To locate an unclaimed pension from an old job, check out the website PBGC that’s run by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a U.S. government agency.
PenChecks Trust, which offers retirement plan distributions, also has a registry database of unclaimed retirement benefits, where both employers and employees may find unclaimed funds.
2. Life Insurance Policies
If you’re looking for an unclaimed life insurance benefit perhaps belonging to a deceased parent or guardian, look at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ life insurance policy locator.
Also, check out the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs unclaimed funds page for veteran family members’ and beneficiaries’ benefits.
3. Federal Tax Refunds
If you think the Internal Revenue Service owes you a refund, visit its Where’s My Refund? page. In fact, You may want to go there quickly: You have three years from the date you filed your federal income tax return to claim a refund.
Something else to consider: If you recently moved, make sure you haven’t provided an incorrect address when filing your taxes. That way, in the future, you won’t have to track down an undeliverable check from Uncle Sam.
[READ : Do You Owe the IRS? How to Find Out]
4. State Departments of Taxation
Most states have their own websites where you can look for unclaimed money, like state tax refunds, although you may find other types of money owed to you, like cash sitting in abandoned bank accounts. Type your state and “unclaimed money” or “unclaimed cash” into a search engine to find your state’s unclaimed money website.
5. Online Databases Designed to Find Missing Money
If you believe you have unclaimed money in an old bank account, check out MissingMoney.com, operated by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. (If you’re Canadian, you may be able to find unclaimed funds here as well.)
If you used to belong to a credit union, visit the National Credit Union Administration’s unclaimed deposits page.
6. Bank Accounts
You also may want to actually contact an old bank, Avis Berg, chief investment officer at Berg Capital in Houston, said in an email.
Berg said that there could be a safe deposit box you have forgotten about at an old bank.
“These can sometimes contain valuable assets or documents,” Berg said.
In addition, make sure you search the FDIC unclaimed funds page, which shows any money a closed bank might owe you.
Or, if your credit union failed, check the National Credit Union Administration’s unclaimed deposits page.
[Related:Is My Money Safe? What You Need to Know About Bank Failures]
7. Unpaid Back Wages
Maybe you worked somewhere years ago and left in a hurry and didn’t collect a final paycheck. If you think you might be owed unpaid back wages, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s “workers owed wages” page.
But hurry. If three years goes by without back wages being collected, the money is sent to the U.S. Treasury.
8. Savings Bonds
If you think you have lost, stolen or destroyed savings bonds, you can visit TreasuryDirect.gov. You’ll have to submit Form 1048, for lost, stolen or destroyed savings bonds.
If you need to locate savings bonds that belonged to a loved one who has passed away or if you are missing interest payments, follow the instructions on the Treasury Hunt page.
9. Bad Investments
Did you have some investment go south years ago? Maybe it’s a long shot, but you could search the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) database to see if you have money from an investment enforcement case.
If the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission went after an investment fund, the defendant may have had to satisfy a judgment, and if you were one of those who unfairly lost money, it could be in there.
Visit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) database for more information, but you’ll likely wind up at the Securities Class Action Clearinghouse website.
10. Money Owed to You From a Bankruptcy
Did somebody who owed you money from a bankruptcy leave you hanging high and dry long ago? Visit the U.S. Courts Unclaimed Funds Locator website and see if it’s there.
11. Native American Money
If you’re a Native American and there’s a chance the government may owe you money, visit the U.S. Department of Interior website’s unclaimed accounts search page, also called the “Whereabouts Unknown” search tool.
The U.S. Department of Interior’s website says, “Tens of thousands of beneficiaries haven’t claimed their Individual Indian Money (IIM) account, or no longer have a mailing address on file with us. Some of these accounts have more than $100,000 in them.”
Do Not Pay Someone to Find Money for You
You might encounter a company or an individual offering to collect your unclaimed funds for you — for a price. Before you hire someone, do some digging to ensure the individual or company is reputable.
If you opt to hire someone rather than going directly to the source, keep in mind that you’ll likely pay that person or company 10% to 20% of the money you collect.
You should also exercise caution if you receive any letters or emails that suggest you can be reunited with some unclaimed property for a fee — it’s likely a scam. And keep in mind that if you have a financial planner, they may be able to help you claim your money, too.
Arrive With the Appropriate Documentation and Proof of Your Identity
You may need to bring a death certificate or even a full probate court order if you’re trying to collect money from a deceased relative’s estate. You may also need to answer a series of questions pertaining to your financial history before the money is released.
[Read: Estate Planning Tips to Keep Your Money in the Family.]
Talk to Family Members
If you’re looking for a deceased or ill parent’s money, you may want to discuss the matter with relatives, Berg said, adding that they may have suggestions regarding where you should look for missing money. You might also look at your parent’s tax returns. “They may provide clues to forgotten assets or income sources,” Berg said.
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11 Ways to Find Unclaimed Money originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 12/23/24: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
