10 Free Ways To Get the Government To Send You Lost Funds
Written by
Cynthia Measom
Edited by
Rebekah Evans
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Believe it or not, you may have an unclaimed bank account, a refund from an insurance policy or other lost money owed to you. The best part is that you can claim them without cost or having to involve a third party. Check out these ways to get the government to send you lost funds for free.
Also here are three stimulus programs most people don’t know about.
National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators
Visit the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators to find your state’s unclaimed property program. According to the site, one in seven people find unclaimed property in their name.
Workers Owed Wages
The Department of Labor’s database, Workers Owed Wages, holds unpaid wages on behalf of workers. The unpaid wages result from labor law violations that occurred. After three years, if the wages have not been claimed, the funds are sent to the U.S. Treasury.
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
If you believe you earned a retirement benefit from a private-sector employer who lost track of you when your plan ended, you can search the PBGC by your last name and Social Security number.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Current or former policyholders may be owed unclaimed insurance funds if the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been unable to locate you. Unclaimed funds apply to the following insurances:
- United States Government Life
- National Service Life Insurance
- Service-Disabled Life Insurance
- Veterans Reopened Insurance
- Veterans Special Life Insurance
Federal Housing Administration
People who have had a home insured by the FHA can search the HUD database to see if they are owed lost funds.
National Credit Union Administration
Search the NCUA database to find any unclaimed deposits from closed credit unions.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Banks that are now closed may also have unclaimed funds. Search the FDIC database to find out.
Treasury Hunt
To find Treasury Securities that you or a deceased loved one have not received payment for, use the Treasury Hunt search tool.
Bureau of Trust Funds Administration
Individual Indian Money accounts belonging to Native Americans and Alaska Natives are managed by BTFA. Use the Whereabouts Unknown search tool to locate unclaimed accounts.
Internal Revenue Service’s ‘Where’s My Refund?’
If you were expecting a tax return but didn’t receive it, use the “Where’s My Refund?” tool to search. You’ll need your Social Security number, filing status and the exact refund amount of the return in question. However, the database only houses information for the current year and the past two years because you only have three years to claim a tax refund, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
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