New York’s Unclaimed Money Still Increasing
New York boasts of being home to one of the largest pile of unclaimed money in the country. As of the last estimate, this vault continues to grow in size with every passing month. By a very correct estimate, the state of New York currently holds nearly $10 billion in unclaimed funds. Most of these unclaimed funds come from come from 25 million inactive bank, business, and government accounts unclaimed by their owners and in the care of the state controller’s office. The New York state treasury is taking all the measures to relocate the rightful owners of the unclaimed money.
With concrete and aggressive steps being taken by the state treasury of New York, the aggregate volume of unclaimed funds claims have increased to a great extent in the last 6 months. Awareness about the unclaimed money and claim process is increasing by the day. The state has launched a very informative and user-friendly website to help the state residents claim their lost funds.
In addition to these efforts, New York State Comptroller’s Office of Unclaimed Funds (OUF) is also collaborating with the state treasury to return the unclaimed funds to its actual owners. This aggressive reclaim awareness program has met with very successful results and has been received very enthusiastically by the citizens of New York and has also seen a boost in the number of claims across the state. The outreach program effectively conveys the message across the state of New York by participating in a variety of public events. The New York State Comptroller’s Web Site can be accessed at www.osc.state.ny.us.
New York is one of the most cosmopolitan states in the country with a large number of migrant workers. The workforce migrations is also very regular and makes a great impact on the volume of unaccounted funds and financial accounts. The state of New York also publishes an “Abandoned Property Supplement” of the New York State Register, which contains a list of abandoned property. This supplement is published by New York State Department of State, 162 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12231
Untill now, New York State has been one of the most successful states in reuniting the owners with their lost money. The outreach program of the state, along with the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), a nonprofit organization affiliated with the National Association of State Treasurers, has made great strides in spreading the awareness about the unclaimed money phenomena and the simple steps of reclaim.
With unclaimed funds sprinting rapidly towards the $15 billion mark, the state authorities are leaving no stone unturned in locating the owners of these lost funds. So, if you are a resident of New York, or have lived there in the past, or know somebody in your friends or family who might have worked or resided in New York, then it is time to take some action. The best place to start will be the official website of the New York State Department of State’s treasury website.
