Pa. Treasurer Garrity announces $246.5 million is owed to Montgomery County residents

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced that more than $246.5 million of unclaimed property is owed to residents of Montgomery County.

“Every dollar can make a huge difference for families right now, so I encourage everyone to search our website for themselves and their loved ones to see if they’re owed any unclaimed property,” Garrity said in a press release. “We’re all still getting hit by inflation with high prices at the grocery store, and the price of gas is climbing again. I want to get this money back where it belongs — in the pockets of hardworking Pennsylvanians.”

In fiscal year 2022-23, the Treasury returned the most unclaimed property ever in a single year — almost $274 million.

More than 1 in 10 Pennsylvanians is owed unclaimed property, and the average claim is worth about $1,600. Over the past three years, $53,087,350 has been returned to residents of Montgomery County. In total, Treasury is working to return more than $4.5 billion in unclaimed property.

To see if you have money available, search Treasury’s unclaimed property database at patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property. It’s easy to file a claim online, Garrity said.

Unclaimed property includes things like dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, and insurance policies. State law requires businesses to report unclaimed property to Treasury after three years of dormancy.

Unclaimed property can also include tangible property, such as jewelry or other valuables stored in abandoned safe deposit boxes. Tangible property may be auctioned by the Treasury after three years of trying to locate the rightful owner. All auction proceeds are available in perpetuity for the rightful owner to claim.

Treasury often receives military decorations and memorabilia as unclaimed property, usually from safe deposit boxes, and works diligently to find the veterans who earned them or their families. Military decorations and memorabilia are never auctioned.

Since taking office, Garrity has returned 412 military decorations and memorabilia, including ten Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars. About 450 military decorations remain in the Treasury’s vault, including one associated with Montgomery County.

Anyone wanting to help the Treasury find the rightful owners can visit patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property/medals.

Anyone searching for unclaimed property can also reach the state Treasury office at 800-222-2046 or via email to tupmail@patreasury.gov.

Local offices of state legislators can also assist residents.