More than 35,000 Rhode Islanders who have unclaimed property with the state will receive over $10 million due to a new program announced Monday by state Treasurer Seth Magaziner.
The program, known as “Your Money,” allows the Rhode Island Treasury ($8 billion) to acquire the addresses of lucky residents from other agencies such as the Division of Taxation, state retirement system, or Department of Labor and Training to send them checks for unclaimed property they may or may not be aware that they own. Prior to the program, the Treasury only had access to names and Social Security numbers connected with the unclaimed property, which meant individuals had to actively claim property from a Treasury database on their own.
“It’s hard for families to make ends meet, and ever harder when banks, insurance companies, and other corporations fail to send you money that is rightfully yours,” Magaziner said in a statement. “I developed Your Money to make sure as many Rhode Islanders as possible get their missing money back in their pockets where it belongs.”
According to the Treasury, roughly 20% of Rhode Islanders have unclaimed property waiting for them.
“Most people don’t even realize that they have missing money with the state until they check our database. This is Your Money and now thousands of Rhode Islanders will find out they have unclaimed property when they receive a check in their mailbox,” Magaziner said.
Claims will be automatically processed in the 2017 holiday season. Amounts more than $2,000 will undergo an extra layer of review from the agency.
To find out if the state is holding unclaimed property that is rightfully theirs and submit a claim, all Rhode Island residents are encouraged to visit findRImoney.com.
Tags: Rhode Island, Rhode Island State Treasury, Seth Magaziner, Unclaimed Property, Your Money