General Treasurer Gina M. Raimondo today announced that the state’s annual Unclaimed Property list has been produced under budget this year. The list of 21,000 names, with total claims worth about $9.7 million, is also reaching Rhode Islanders earlier than in past years.
“As General Treasurer, it’s my job to keep unclaimed properties safe until I can return them to their rightful owners,” Raimondo said. “I urge all Rhode Islanders to not only look for their name in the printed book, but to check our online database for archived claims.”
Each year, the state finds itself holding millions of dollars in unclaimed property, including money from inactive financial accounts, old payroll checks, the contents of various safe deposit boxes, and proceeds from life insurance policies, utility deposits, stocks and dividends, overpayments and a variety of other financial properties.
To search this year’s list, as well as the unclaimed archives, visit the Unclaimed Property link on the Treasury website. The process to search for and recover lost assets is free. The Treasury is holding about $146 million in property from as far back as the 1950s.
Despite a 31 percent increase in the number of constituent names this year, Treasury staff was able decrease the production cost by changing the format of the list. This change helped the 52-page document come in about $30,000 under budget. The total project cost about $90,000, versus about $120,000 in 2010.
“Whenever possible, I will look for operational efficiencies that will offer savings to the taxpayer, while maintaining customer service,” Raimondo said. “We are already looking at ways to make improvements to next year’s list.”
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