THE CHECK’S IN THE MAIL
Forgotten escrow? Insurance claim? You might have money in your name waiting to be found
NEW York State has $15 billion in unclaimed funds, and some of it could be yours.
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli serves as the custodian of these funds until they’re claimed by the rightful owners, and he’s urging New Yorkers to see if any of it belongs to them. In the state fiscal year 2015-16, DiNapoli’s office received $808 million and paid out $424 million to claimants.
“We’ve made it easier for New Yorkers to search for and claim money that is rightfully theirs,” says DiNapoli.
Money often gets “lost” when a payor makes an error in an address or phone number and can’t find the rightful owner. The money goes into New York State’s Abandoned Property Fund under the control of the Office of the Comptroller.
No wonder over two million people visit the state’s website (OSC. State.NY.US) to look for unclaimed funds every year.
“We return $1.5 million a day,” says DiNapoli. “But we need people to help spread the word to their family, friends and neighbors. Take a few minutes out of your day and visit our website.”
There are currently more than 37 million unclaimed funds accounts, some of which date back to the 1940s. The majority of unclaimed funds accounts stem from old bank accounts, but there are also stocks, life insurance, uncashed checks and gift cards. State law requires that abandoned money or securities be transferred to the Comptroller’s office if there is no activity in an account for a period of typically three years. “ItIt’ss yoyour money, you should hhave it back,” says DiNapoli. It is frfree to claim the money, sos beware of privatevate comcompanies trying to claim for you for a fee of up to 15 percent. To claim, you will need to provide your Taxpayer Identification Number and other personal information, and any gains will be reported to the IRS and other tax authorities.
David Perez of Passaic, N.J., and formerly of Brooklyn, recently stumbled upon a small amount of money when a friend told him about the state’s website.
Perez was surprised to find he had a bonus from Amway, the multilevel marketing company.
“I was doing what they called an Independent Business Owner (IBO) but was never able to get into that field,” he recalls.
His princely sum of $24 was in the form of an unused Amway gift certificate.
“I gave the money to my wife,” he says.