Facts about Unclaimed Money

During the course of the year there will be millions of pounds of unclaimed money that will be handed over to the Treasury in the United Kingdom simply because there are no clues as to who owns this money and likewise there are hundreds of thousands of people who do not even know the money is theirs.

A lot of this money is left in wills, pensions and insurance policies that have no next of kin to claim them either because they are no longer alive or because they have moved and are difficult to track down.

Unclaimed Benefits and Entitlements

There are many people in the United Kingdom at this very moment who will be eligible for benefits because of ill health, being a single parent or caring for someone else who is sick and who are not aware of the fact.

It is fair to say that although the government run advertising campaigns to make us aware of this fact they do not actively participate in a campaign to find those who may be eligible and rely solely on their coming forward. With this in mind – as we have already mentioned – thousands go without such benefits and may never claim them.

If you are in receipt of benefits do you know how much you are actually entitled to? Likewise are you fully aware of any other entitlements you may be due such as council tax reductions, rent relief or help with Working Tax Credits (formerly Working Families Tax Credit)?

If you are in receipt of benefits and think that you may be entitled to additional assistance of either a financial or caring nature then you should contact your local Department of Health and Social Services and ask for more information. You can also consult with the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) who are familiar with many of the different types of benefit available and may be able to help you with any paperwork that may be required.

Insurances, Wills and Legacies

As well as the unclaimed monies from benefits issued by the state there are hundreds of thousands of people who are unaware of the fact that family members long since deceased have bequeathed them money in a will. This money if not claimed through time will be given to the Treasury.

The same applies to Legacies and Insurances that are not claimed.

With this in mind in recent times a new Unclaimed Asset Register has been introduced for anyone who believes that they are possibly the unknowing recipient of monies left in such wills and policies.

This register is designed so that anyone believing such money may be due to them can have a search performed in order to find any lost pensions, shares, dividends, legacies and the likes.

If during the process of your search it is discovered that there have been monies left to you or monies lost down the years through administrative errors you can claim them and also make a donation to charity. You will also have to pay a fee for having this search carried out.

To find out more about such searches and how to go about performing one you should visit the Unclaimed Asset Register’s website at www.uar.co.uk.