State governments are holding billions of dollars of unclaimed property for safekeeping – just waiting for Americans to take back what is rightfully theirs.
Like a giant lost and found, government Treasury bonds take care of financial assets—including missed paychecks and utility refunds—that have been abandoned or forgotten by their holders.
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Often, people don’t realize they have unclaimed property – or they don’t know how to get their money back if they do.
But a now viral TikTok video broke down the process step by step, showing how Americans can access “billions in unclaimed money.”
“Go get your money!” says Alex Pearlman — the TikTok creator who shared the clip in April to his 1 million followers under the username @pearlmania500. Here is his advice.
What is unclaimed property?
In this context, unclaimed property is any financial asset that has been abandoned or forgotten for a set period of time—often three to five years, but sometimes longer—after which, by law, it must be turned over to the state for safekeeping.
Some common forms of unclaimed property include: checking accounts or savings accounts. unpaid dividends or payroll checks; investment vehicles such as stock, bond, or brokerage accounts; life insurance proceeds; Refunds Distributions Trust Certificates of Deposit and Annuities.
You may ask: How can someone forget to collect their last paycheck? How can someone give up an old savings account?
Believe it or not, unclaimed property is actually quite common—one in seven Americans own some form of property owed to them that has been forgotten, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Managers.
Read more: ‘Hard and Reckless’: Student loan payments set to resume soon as part of President Biden’s debt deal — but Experts warn it could push Americans off a ‘student loan cliff’
How to recover unclaimed property
If you think you have unclaimed property or want to check if your state owes you money, you can follow Pearlman’s Step by step guide on TikTokwhich has been viewed nearly five million times, and has nearly 500,000 likes.
A quick online search for “unclaimed property” and “your state name” should come up with your state’s Treasury website, Perelman says.
You want one that ends in .gov Anything else could be a scam,” he warns.
In Pennsylvania, where Perelman is located, you can secure your forgotten possessions with a visit Unclaimed property.patreasury.gov. But not all countries follow this direct location format. In Florida, for example, you must visit fltreasurehunt.gov to submit your claim.
Once you’re on the state’s official website, you can search for your missing money by entering personal information like your full name, previous addresses, etc. — and remember, it’s worth checking every state you’ve lived in or worked in.
“I did it for my wife (and she) got a Ruby Tuesday stipend from 2002,” Perlman says. “This offshoot of Ruby Tuesday hasn’t been around for 20 years. That money was still waiting for her. So, she’s finally getting paid for a job she did two decades ago.”
Unclaimed property may seem like it’s not a problem to you if you take steps to keep your accounts active over time – but in fact, many people own unclaimed property without even realizing it.
“You’ll probably have the money there,” Perlman says. “If you have a Google AdSense account and it never gets paid because you didn’t make $100 — the minimum to even charge you a check, as I did — that money ends up in the unclaimed property of your state treasury.
“So go check this out. You’re losing money.”
Does this money hack work?
If you find unclaimed property in your state’s database, the state will send you an online claim form or instructions for reclaiming the property.
This seems to have worked for Perelman viewers. So far, his video has attracted nearly 8,700 comments — many confirming that the TikToker money hack worked.
A commenter with the username Cades_Arcade wrote: “I just found out I have over 1,000 unclaimed properties. How about that. Thanks for the tip.”
Another with username Kelby wrote: “My partner just got his first of 3 claim checks, it was for over a dollar! That kind of money is a huge deal for us now. Thanks for the post!”
Meanwhile, someone with the username Rhapsody commented: “I just found $305! And some of my grandmother’s payroll from 1986.”
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Managers says that there are currently billions of dollars currently locked in unclaimed property programs. And all it takes is a quick search online to get back what’s rightfully yours.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
