State Treasurer Urges Illinoisans to Check on Unclaimed Property

Published on January 27 2025 9:22 am
Last Updated on January 27 2025 9:22 am

(STATE TREASURER MICHAEL FRERICHS)

National Unclaimed Property Day is coming up and Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs is urging people to check the I-CASH missing money website to see if they have money or other unclaimed property waiting for them to claim.

“National Unclaimed Property Day on February 1 is a great day for people to visit our I-CASH website, though you certainly don’t have to wait until then,” Frerichs said. “In fact, it’s a good idea to check the website at least a couple of times a year to see if you, your family, or your friends have cash or property to claim.”

“We work hard to return missing money and unclaimed property to the rightful owners,” he added. “Putting money back in your warm hands is better than keeping it in our cold bank vaults. Putting money back in the hands of Illinoisans does more good for our state’s economy than it does sitting in our bank account.”

“Unclaimed property” typically refers to items such as uncashed rebate checks or vendor checks, unpaid life insurance claims, forgotten checking accounts and the contents of overlooked safe deposit boxes. When companies and banks cannot return these items to the rightful owners, by law they are turned over to the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office.

The state treasurer is legally required to return unclaimed property to its owners or their heirs, no matter how long it takes. Under Treasurer Frerichs, the office has set records for the number of claims and dollar amounts returned.

Every dollar counts. Just last month, for example, the Treasurer’s Office helped Susan from Shelby County get a check for $452.50. (She asked not to be identified by her full name or hometown.)

“I was incredibly impressed with how it went,” she said, referring to the process of claiming her missing money. “I think it was turned around in a week or less. The Treasurer’s Office does great work.”

Susan said the reason she had missing money “is a weird story.”

In spring 2020, she noticed money was missing from her bank account. The bank told her that her debit card had been compromised, and it needed to be destroyed. Somehow, she said, the money wound up in a digital wallet under her name. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t access the cash there because the digital wallet was associated with the old debit card.

Then, last summer, Susan received a letter from the digital wallet company saying that those funds soon would be turned over to the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office as unclaimed property. Susan, who makes a habit of regularly visiting the I-CASH missing money database, made her claim online in December. Two days later, the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office told her to watch for a check to arrive by mail. The money came at a good time. “It was right before Christmas,” she said.

The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) launched the first National Unclaimed Property Day on February 1, 2021, to inform more people about missing money. Treasurer Frerichs’ Office is a national leader on unclaimed property issues and is frequently consulted by other states that are reforming their unclaimed property laws, rules and procedures.

Frerichs’ successes with unclaimed property include:

Returning nearly $299 million in missing money during 2024, when 331,032 claims were processed. Preliminary numbers show that $260.6 million in cash and $38 million in securities were returned last year. The average claim was $902.

Returning more than $2.2 billion in unclaimed property – the most in state history – since becoming State Treasurer in 2015.

Returning nearly $13.2 million to 140,000 people last fall as part of the latest round of the Enhanced Money Match program that allows the State Treasurer’s Office to automatically return money to individuals without the need to file a claim. The vast majority of checks were for $50 to $100.

Adding a Spanish-language I-CASH website, es.icash.illinoistreasurer.gov, last year to make it easier for people to claim missing money. Other states rely on Google Translate, but the Illinois Treasurer’s Office built a website from the ground up to better serve the needs of Spanish-speaking residents. All forms have been translated into Spanish.

Enhancing the I-Cash website with a Family and Friends “share” feature. When visitors to the website come across the name of someone they know, they can select the “share” icon and provide that person’s email address. Frerichs’ office then will notify the individual by sending an email that mentions the missing money, along with the name of the friend or relative who spotted it. Then, that person can start the process of retrieving it.