Record-Breaking Unclaimed Property Returns Announced by Louisiana Treasurer Schroder

Louisiana – On October 28, 2022, Louisiana Treasurer John M. Schroder revealed record-high unclaimed property search and claim rates for the state, with over 128,000 searches done and 5,500 claims lodged within 24 hours. The national MissingMoney.org and LaCashClaim.org websites are seeing never-before-seen amounts of engagement for Louisiana.

“Louisiana is outpacing other states across the nation in efforts to return unclaimed property to its rightful owners,” Schroder said. “With interest rates sky high and budgets tight for so many across the state, it is great to help people find surprise pockets of money.”

Over $1 billion in unclaimed property is now awaiting claim. Furthermore, one out of every six Louisiana residents has property that has to be returned, with the average claim totaling $900.

“This money doesn’t belong to the state. When we return it to the proper individuals, they can spend it in their hometowns across the state,” Schroder added. “Imagine what a boost it would be if we could put the entire $1 billion back into the Louisiana economy.”

Schroder has overseen the Treasury’s adoption of technology on various fronts to speed returns to citizens since his election in 2017. Over the last four years, over 400,000 checks have been cut, and over $62 million in claims have been handled without the need for a claim. A collaboration with the Department of Revenue on data cross-checking enabled checks to be automatically delivered to residents.

The fact that 649,000 checks have been returned to claimants in the last three years, compared to 122,000 in the previous three years, shows that the adjustments are working.

”The Unclaimed Property team always works extremely really hard to man the phones and get the checks in the mail as soon as possible,” said Kathleen Lobell, Director of Louisiana Unclaimed Property and President of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA). “Treasury averages 175 checks printed per day, but we were able to print 1,800 checks in one day alone to respond to the recent spike in claims.”

Nearly 33 million persons in the United States have what is known in the industry as unclaimed property: financial accounts or items of value in which the owner has not initiated any activity in several years. When a company cannot locate the owner, the money or property is turned over to the state. Unpaid life insurance payouts, neglected bank accounts, and unused gift or rebate cards are common instances.