Newsroom

Celebrating Unclaimed Property Day

Did you know nearly 33 million Americans have money sitting in a government bank account waiting to be claimed? That’s about one in seven people – and you could very well be one of them.

Money becomes “unclaimed” when it is abandoned (or lost) and the owner can’t be found. It could be an old stock, a distant relative’s estate after their passing, or simply an energy bill refund that got sent to an old address. In Mississippi, it’s my team’s responsibility to try to find the rightful owner and return it – and we’ve made this one of our biggest priorities.

Since taking office, we have reunited Mississippians with more than $125 million, including a record-breaking $40 million last year alone. We’ve made a lot of changes to increase the speed at which the money is matched, including switching to an eClaims system, reducing the need for a notary. In some cases, we’re now using new technology to proactively find and return lost money without a claim being required.

February 1 is National Unclaimed Property Day, a renewed call for every citizen to search for money that could be listed in their name, or that of a lost loved one. In Mississippi, you can do that by visiting treasury.ms.gov/search.

I hope every Mississippian takes the time to search for your name or that of your business, church or organization. This is your money, not the government’s, and I want to get it back into your hands as quickly as possible. Think of it as an economic stimulus that taxpayers didn’t have to foot the bill for!

While we have made tremendous strides in returning unclaimed cash recently, millions of dollars remain without a proper match. As the country celebrates National Unclaimed Property Day, please join many others in searching for your money. Again, you can do so by visiting treasury.ms.gov/search. If you have any questions, please contact my unclaimed money team at (601) 359-3600 or unclaimed@treasury.ms.gov.