Unclaimed Money Pile Still Increasing With Unclaimed Property
Federal and State governments are grappling with the problematic unclaimed money pile, which has been rising steadily with no solution in sight. Every state is reporting huge additions to this unclaimed cash vault, but the biggest recipients of unaccounted cash have been the three major states: New York, California, and Texas.
California is reporting unclaimed money to the tune of $5.7 Billion, and New York’s pile of unclaimed money has swelled up to $9.9 billion. In a recent statement from NAUPA (National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators), the unclaimed money which is currently marked as abandoned and which is in the hands of state treasuries is worth almost $40 billion
The majority of the new additions to this pile of unclaimed money is because of unclosed bank accounts, returned tax refund, unremitted pension funds, and other types of personal assets that have not been accounted as of yet. Every state has a statutory time limit for holding the unclaimed funds. As soon as these funds reach the upper statutory limit for the abandoned money and property, it is transferred to the federal or state government where it is flagged of as unclaimed or abandoned.
This unclaimed money pile is expected to grow steeply in the coming months and years. In an approximate estimate by economists and financial experts, the volume of unclaimed cash might reach the near the $100 billion mark.
More than 90% Americans have somebody in their family who might be entitled to some value of unclaimed money. NAUPA has been assisting state treasuries in every possible manner to minimize the pile of unclaimed funds by creating practical outreach programs that spread the word about the unclaimed funds and the process of claim.
The larger states like California and New York are weighing options to make laws regarding the usage of unclaimed funds for the social welfare projects. There is a chance that some new collaborative programs might be launched jointly by the state and Federal government considering the current economic situation where there is cash crunch in all the state departments.
