$11.6 million added to Unclaimed Property Fund, needs to be claimed by owners

Senator Chipman urges residents to check if they are owed money from utilities, banks and other third parties

The Office of the State Treasurer has received more than $11 million in the form of unclaimed property in the past year, and Mainers are being urged to check whether any of that cash belongs to them.

“Unclaimed property” is money owed to Maine people by third parties, such as former employers, banks or utility companies. Organizations are required to give unclaimed property to the State Treasurer after a specified period of time, after which the owner of the unclaimed property can retrieve it from the state.

“Mainers can find their names on this list for any number of reasons and new items are added constantly, so it’s important they check again, even if they weren’t on the list last year,” said Sen. Chipman. “It would be great if people could let their neighbors, friends and family know about the program, too. Word of mouth is so important on things like this.”

Last year Sen. Chipman helped Portland residents collect over $2.4 million through the Unclaimed Property Program.

Even if you have done everything right, you could have unclaimed property. It could be from a forgotten account, an overpaid bill or uncollected wages. This money could be unclaimed as a result of a change in name, addresses or bank account.

You can search the Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property list here. If you find your name, of the name of your current or past businesses on the list, you can claim the property immediately online — for free.

You can also search your friends and family and let them know about unclaimed properties that may belong to them. To find out if you are owed money in other states missingmoney.com serves as a National Database.

The Office of the Treasurer receives new properties throughout the year. Be sure to check back as often as you can!