Unclaimed money refers to any sum owned by an entity or person (e.g., an institution or bank) that the proper owner hasn’t opened for a specific amount of time. It could be traveler’s checks and tax refunds, cashing dividends and payroll checks that are not cashed, pension funds, securities, and stocks such as life insurance policies, estate proceeds, and investments or savings accounts, security deposits, credit balances, as well as other money whose owners aren’t known or are not able to be identified.
The time period to pass before a sum is declared “unclaimed” varies based on the kind of money. When this period (known in the industry as the “dormancy time) is over, an institution of finance or entity (the owner) who has control of the bank account or asset will either report it or transfer the asset over to the government. The procedure whereby the government assumes ownership temporarily of the funds is known as escheatment.
In Oregon, the State, the organization that is in charge of the unclaimed funds (otherwise referred to as “unclaimed property” of the State) is called the State Treasury. As per the state laws regarding unclaimed property – Chapter 170 Division 140, Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR); 98.302 through 98.436 and 98.991 to 98.992 of the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS), The State Treasury safeguards the funds or assets until legitimate owners are able to claim the funds or assets.
It is important to note that the Oregon State Treasury does not charge any fees to those looking for lost funds within its database. It is available to all public members, not only state residents.
It is interesting to note that Oregonians and others with a property not claimed can access accessible databases and government lists of money that is not claimed by contacting various federal agencies. The agency you can contact will be based on the money the person wants to get back, for instance, the unclaimed funds of veterans’ insurance and wages.
Unclaimed Veterans’ Life Insurance Funds
The people who have served in the Armed Forces (veterans) might be due money from Veterans Affairs U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA offers numerous benefits and essential services for former service members, such as those who sustained an injury in the military, died, ore fired from their job. These programs include education mortgages, home loans, life insurance, medical compensation, disability, and more.
Specific programs, such as the life insurance policy of the VA, include the payment of (death awards and premium refunds, dividend checks) sent to veterans or beneficiaries. In the end, there is a good possibility that the VA could not identify a beneficiary or policyholder and that the money would return to the organization. Even if the VA will eventually declare these funds as unclaimed after a certain period of time, it keeps the funds until the correct owner is able to claim them. As per the Department, some of the funds have been in its custody for a long time.
The VA invites family members or veteran members to look through its database to find unclaimed life insurance proceeds. (However, the database is not able to include the cash that is derived from Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance or Veterans’ Group Life Insurance policies that were issued from 1965 until.) If you are a resident of Oregon could contact the Portland Regional Benefits Office for the data (see other VA places) or contact the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) at (800) 827-1000. The hours of operation are Monday to Friday from 8.00 a.m. till 9.00 p.m. (ET).
Unclaimed Wages and Pensions
Oregonians who believe their employers have violated labor laws could recover lost wages through The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) which is a division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Individuals who are interested can look up the Workers Owed Wages (WOW) database using the name of an employer to determine if funds are not claimed. You can also reach WHD at WHD via (866) 487-9243 to inquire about the database.
In addition, pensioners who are owed cash from companies that closed or dissolved a defined pension plan should call for assistance from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). The number to dial for assistance is (800) 400-7242.
More information about how to find other kinds of unclaimed funds, which federal agencies have, including bankrupt funds as well as international unclaimed money and tax refund check, is available on the U.S. government’s official website.
The time it takes to recover the money that is not claimed or abandoned in Oregon the State of Oregon is different. In general Oregon State Treasury, Oregon State Treasury attempts to respond to claims in 120 days, but in reality, claims could take as much as ten months to process according to the nature of the claim and the amount of work the agency has to handle. However, the agency has noted that those or companies with claims under $2,500 will likely receive approval the same day and receive their funds in a few weeks.
The Oregon State Treasury advises claimants with cash-flow issues urgently to contact them as it could be possible to reduce processing times.