PA Could Begin Automatically Returning Unclaimed Money, Property

HARRISBURG, PA — About 1 in 10 Pennsylvanians have cash and property currently being held by the state Treasury, likely don't know it and would have to submit a claim to recover their money even if they did.

That could soon change. Legislation introduced in the state Senate Monday would permit the Treasure to automatically return property valued up to $5,000 to its owner after a thorough identification process.

State Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Sen. John DiSanto, a Dauphin County Republican, held a news conference Wednesday to introduce the proposed automatic return program known as Pennsylvania Money Match. Fourteen states have similar programs.

“This will be a huge step forward in our efforts to return unclaimed property to Pennsylvanians as quickly as possible. Pennsylvania Money Match will get more money back into the wallets of hard-working Pennsylvanians, where it belongs," Garrity said.

"Many people don’t know they have unclaimed property, and we should make it as easy as possible to get these funds back where they belong. "

DiSanto said his bill already has strong bipartisan support.

"This initiative is truly common sense and has tremendous potential to help residents get back
unclaimed funds during this period of high-inflation and stretched family budgets."

Garrity said that Treasury receives hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed property every year, often because of something as simple as a misspelled name or an outdated address. More than $4 billion currently is waiting to be claimed; the average return for people who file a claim is $1,600.

To search the Treasury's unclaimed property data base, click here.