Your Money,
Lost Then Found
By Michael Bischoff, CFP®
Over the years, we have helped clients successfully find lost money ranging from small amounts up to $50,000 plus. Typically, the accounts found were for individuals, their deceased parents or family members. It can take some time and effort to recover the funds. We would like to share these useful websites to help in your search to find potential wayward wealth.
Uncashed Checks & Dormant Accounts
Go to missingmoney.com to search 49 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico for unclaimed property that might be due to you. (Search for any of your assets in Hawaii by using the site’s link to Hawaii registry.) Provided by National Association of State Treasurers, the site catalogs assets such as uncashed checks from corporations, financial institutions, banks, insurance companies and municipalities, along with the contents of inactive brokerage accounts and unclaimed safe-deposit boxes.
Pensions and 401(k)s
Search for lost or missing retirement funds at lostandfound.dol.gov, the U.S. Department of Labor’s new Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database. The non-profit Pension Rights Center, at pensionrights.org, can connect you with free help if you, your company or your pension plan is located in one of the 30 states served by the U.S. Administration for Community Living’s Pension Counseling and Information Program.
Visit pbgc.gov/workers-retirees, the website for the government’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to find unclaimed benefits from private-sector plans that have closed down.
Back Wages
If the Department of Labor can’t find you after recovering unpaid wages you’re due, you have three years to get in touch with the DOL and request your money.
To see if you are owed any back pay, visit the Workers Owed Wages site at dol.gov/agencies/whd/wow.
Savings Bonds
At treasuryhunt.gov, operated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, you can find out if you, or a loved one who has died, have a U.S. Savings Bond or other U.S. Treasury security for which proceeds have not been paid. You can also use this to track down missing interest payments on Treasury securities. You will need the relevant Social Security number or full name and state.
Orphaned Bank Accounts
For money left at an FDIC insured bank that has since failed, visit closedbanks.fdic.gov/funds.
For accounts at failed credit unions, go to the National Credit Union Administration’s ncua.gov and search for “unclaimed deposits”.
In early 2025, more than 20 failed credit unions were listed as having held people’s unclaimed funds.