Unclaimed Property Blog

Unclaimed property is the topic for some of England’s largest charities. Money is sitting idle and charities are in need of funds. What to do? Read on to find out what they are planning.

Some of England’s largest charities have formed an independent body which is set to announce plans for a “social investment bank” . The purpose of this group is to take over hundreds of millions of pounds lying in dormant bank accounts.

The exact plan will be unveiled on July 12, 2006 as part of an interim report by the Commission on Unclaimed Assets. The Commission is reviewing how dormant funds could be distributed to charities if the assets are not reclaimed by their owners.

Have you ever read the fine print? Do you even know what the larger print means? Here are some definitions that will help you to better understand the “deal” you are getting when you apply for a credit card.

If you don’t understand what is being said, credit card offers and statements could lead you down the path to deep debt when you thought you were at 0% interest. Here is what some of the frequently used credit card terms mean:

You’re paying the bills and there isn’t any more room in the file cabinet or drawer, what do you do? Do you sit and wonder which are the important papers to keep and which ones can be thrown out?

A basic rule is to keep tax related documents for seven years. Following this you would want to keep any documentation to support your taxes for this amount of time as well.

Exceptions to the seven year rule of course would be investment or asset documentation (car and home purchases, stock or bonds that are still owned). The few documents you need to keep for life would include but may not be limited to birth, death and marriage certificates, adoption papers and divorce decrees, for example.

The price of a gallon of gas is now above $3.00. Many are feeling the pain in their financial portfolio. How does this affect retirement?

Having paid more to drive in the last six months, three out of four Americans said higher living costs prevented them from saving more for retirement.

The Fidelity Retirement Index, which analyzes American households’ overall retirement readiness, found that among Americans whose savings plans were pinched by higher living costs, nearly one in two had cut the amount to be saved for retirement. Thus the higher price of gas has cut the amount going into savings toward retirement, that is how they are related.

Tobacco farmers were once given a settlement to no longer raise tobacco. If you thought that all the money was given out, think again.

In the fall of 2005 the Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division received payment under the Master Settlement agreement (MSA) between the major domestic cigarette manufacturers and 46 states. This is money that had gone unclaimed for several years.

Further looking into this uncovered that there are about 1,300 farmers in Kentucky who have not claimed all they were due from the tobacco settlements.