Philly soft pretzels, TastyKakes, cheese steaks and chocolates are not the only nice things you might find in PA. There is also the steel of course, Christmas trees (The Christmas Tree capital of the world in Indiana County), the Liberty Bell, and last but certainly not least… huge piles of money. Well, cash from Pennsylvania unclaimed money to be exact. You read that right – roughly $1 billion in unclaimed property is with the PA State Treasury and it is just waiting to be claimed by the residents it belongs to.
Owners of PA unclaimed properties are usually residents (or former residents) of the state who’ve either forgotten about or lost track of their financial assets by changing addresses and jobs. People often forget to leave behind a forwarding address after they move and this ultimately results in undelivered mail which can contain tax refund checks and the like. Escheat laws dictate that lost financial assets be passed along to the hands of the state after a certain number of years wherein they go unclaimed.
According to the PA State Treasury, “Each year, Treasury receives millions of dollars in unclaimed property from abandoned bank accounts, forgotten stocks, checks that have not been cashed, certificates of deposit, life insurance policies, safe deposit boxes, and other sources. Treasury maintains custody of this unclaimed property, holding assets indefinitely, until it is returned to its rightful owners.” Lost assets can also come from traveler’s checks, money orders, expired gift certificates, uncollected or unpaid salaries and wages, and safe-deposit box contents. As a matter of fact, $157,290 in unpaid wages and salaries were reported to have been owed by the H.J. Heinz company recently and failed to report this to the State. Under PA Unclaimed Property Law, unpaid payroll funds held by companies have to be handed to the Pennsylvania Treasury every 2 years and every 5 years for unclaimed properties like uncashed company checks and stock shares abandoned by shareholders. Pennsylvania State Treasurer Robert Casey recently stated, “By law, all businesses, financial institutions and legal entities must report and return all unclaimed property to the Commonwealth.”
The PA Unclaimed Money Division and the State Treasurer’s Office makes an effort to notify owners of unclaimed property in PA advertising campaigns, through letters, and state-run unclaimed money databases. “Annual advertising and letter campaigns are just some of the methods Treasury employs to seek the owners of over $1 billion in unclaimed property. Treasury sends representatives to statewide public events year-round, including malls, consumer expos and fairs. Treasury also works with members of the General Assembly in helping determine if their constituents have unclaimed property”, According to a statement from the Treasury of PA.
Considering the massive size of the PA unclaimed property heap though, it is obvious that the state’s efforts are inadequate for the large number (tens of thousands) of citizens owed unclaimed monies annually. If you think you or a relative might have unclaimed property in PA or other states, now would be the best time to get some forgotten money back in your pockets. Do an unclaimed property search now!
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