THE FOLLOWING IS AN ILLINOIS STATE TREASURER’S OFFICE RELEASE
You May Have Cash or Property Waiting to be Claimed at illinoistreasurer.gov/ICASH
SPRINGFIELD – Kringle, Santa, Claus, Rudolph, Gift, Noel and Merry are among the millions of names in Illinois’ unclaimed property database with cash and property waiting to be claimed, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said today.
“We return unclaimed property year-round, but it’s that time of year when reuniting extra money and keepsakes with their rightful owners is even more special,” Frerichs said. “Check our database at www.illinoistreasurer.gov/ICASH to find out if you have some extra holiday cash or property to claim.”
What is unclaimed property? It is money or accounts within financial institutions or companies in which there has been no activity for several years and the legal owner has not responded to inquiries by the business. In Illinois, the state treasurer is tasked with safeguarding unclaimed property, such as unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards.
Unclaimed property is reported to the treasurer’s office two times each year, so it is recommended that individuals check the database every six months.
An estimated one-in-four adults in Illinois who search the treasurer’s database find unclaimed property, and the average claim is $1,000. Frerichs has returned $1.5 billion in unclaimed property during his tenure, setting records along the way.
Frerichs prioritized changes in technology, efficiency and state law to streamline the unclaimed property process. The state treasurer’s office has added electronic claims, eliminated red-tape that slowed small-money claims, and leveraged technology to allow payments to be made without a claim even needing to be filed.
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About the Illinois Treasurer
As Illinois State Treasurer, Michael Frerichs (FRAIR’-iks) is the state’s Chief Investment and Banking Officer and actively manages approximately $52 billion. The portfolio includes $27 billion in state funds, $16 billion in retirement and college savings plans and $9 billion on behalf of local and state governments. Frerichs’ office protects consumers by safeguarding more than $3.5 billion in unclaimed property, encouraging savings plans for college or trade school, increasing financial education among all ages, assisting people with disabilities to save without losing government benefits, and removing barriers to a secure retirement. The Treasurer’s Office predates Illinois incorporation in 1818. Voters in 1848 chose to make it an elected office.
