Free · no account · we never ask for your SSN or bank login · the claim itself happens on the official site
IRS unclaimed refunds
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Deadline passed April 15, 2026 for tax year 2022
Federal income tax refunds for a tax year where the person never filed a return.
Who: People who did not file a Form 1040 for the tax year and had tax withheld or paid, or were due refundable credits.
Published figure: $1,159,244,200 in total potential refunds for tax year 2022, across an estimated 1,322,600 people (median potential refund $686, excluding credits)
What you'll need: The missing year's Form 1040, plus wage and income records (W-2, 1099) or an IRS transcript. There is no name search for unfiled-year refunds - the claim is filing the return.
Open official site - IRS
Under the law there are three years to file and claim; after that the money becomes property of the U.S. Treasury. The IRS publishes a new tax year's figure each spring.
Source: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) · Official site: www.irs.gov · Figure source: IRS release IR-2026-37, irs.gov · Figure as of 2026-03-20 · Verified 2026-10-21
Matured, unredeemed savings bonds
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (TreasuryDirect)
The redemption value of savings bonds that reached final maturity, stopped earning interest, and were never cashed.
Who: Bond owners and their heirs, including owners of lost, stolen, or destroyed paper bonds.
Published figure: Approximately 1% of all paper savings bonds ever issued are unredeemed and three or more years past final maturity (Treasury has issued more than 6.8 billion paper savings bonds, valued at more than $731 billion, since 1935)
What you'll need: For the state search: your name and the state where the bond owner lived. For Form 1048: bond details if known and a certified signature.
Search state unclaimed property
Route 1: Treasury now shares matured bond records with states, so search your state's unclaimed property program first. Route 2: for a bond you know exists but cannot produce, file FS Form 1048 on TreasuryDirect.
Open official site - TreasuryDirect forms
Bonds never expire and there is no deadline to redeem.
Treasury Hunt - the old federal bond search tool. Ended September 30, 2025. There is no search on that page any longer; the routes above replace it.
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (TreasuryDirect), Treasury Hunt page · Verified 2026-10-21
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (TreasuryDirect) · Official site: www.treasurydirect.gov · Figure source: Treasury 2024 Report to Congress under SECURE 2.0, treasurydirect.gov · Figure as of 2025-03-11 · Verified 2026-10-21
FHA mortgage insurance premium refunds
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) / Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
A refund of part of the up-front FHA mortgage insurance premium paid at closing.
Who: People who had an FHA-insured mortgage, acquired the loan after September 1, 1983, paid an up-front premium, and did not default.
What you'll need: Your last name, or your FHA case number. City and state are optional in the HUD search.
Open official site - HUD
The search and the claim are free - you do not need to pay another person or firm to collect this refund. If your name is found, call HUD at 1-800-697-6967.
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) / Federal Housing Administration (FHA) · Official site: entp.hud.gov · Verified 2026-10-21
PBGC unclaimed pensions
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Retirement benefits from a terminated pension or retirement plan that the plan could not pay because it lost track of the person.
Who: People who earned a benefit from a private-sector employer whose plan ended and transferred the benefit to PBGC, and their beneficiaries.
Published figure: About 60,000 people located but still unpaid in the Missing Participants Program as of December 31, 2025; about 23,000 people paid through the program to date
What you'll need: Your last name and the last four digits of your Social Security number, entered on the PBGC site.
Open official site - PBGC
A match is a first step only; PBGC confirms identity before any payment. The program does not cover government or military pensions.
Source: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) · Official site: www.pbgc.gov · Figure source: PBGC report on expanding the Missing Participants Program, pbgc.gov · Figure as of 2025-12-31 · Verified 2026-10-21
Retirement Savings Lost and Found
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Nothing held by the database itself; it points you to the plan administrator who may owe you retirement benefits.
Who: People who worked for a private-sector employer or union that sponsored a retirement plan (pension or 401(k)-type plan).
What you'll need: An ID-proofed Login.gov account (legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, mobile device, photo of a driver's license).
Open official site - Department of Labor
This database does not pay benefits. It lists plans linked to you and the plan administrator to contact; you claim any benefit from the administrator, not from the Department of Labor. It does not cover IRAs, government plans, or Social Security.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) · Official site: lostandfound.dol.gov · Verified 2026-10-21
National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits
Private registry (operated by PenChecks Trust); not a government agency
Private registry - not a government site
Nothing held by the registry itself; it lists unclaimed retirement plan account balances reported by participating employers and points you to the plan.
Who: People with an unclaimed retirement account balance from an employer or plan that reported it to the registry.
What you'll need: Your Social Security number, entered on the registry site.
Open registry site
Use the official Department of Labor search above first. Only employers who reported a balance to the registry appear, so coverage is partial.
Source: Private registry (operated by PenChecks Trust); not a government agency · Official site: www.unclaimedretirementbenefits.com · Verified 2026-10-21
VA unclaimed insurance funds
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Insurance Service
VA life insurance money that was mailed but could not be delivered, including death awards, dividend checks, and premium refunds.
Who: Current and former VA life insurance policyholders and their beneficiaries under USGLI, NSLI, Veterans Special Life Insurance, Veterans Reopened Insurance, or Service-Disabled Life Insurance.
What you'll need: The veteran's name for the search. If a record matches, VA asks for more identifying information before funds can be released.
Open official site - VA
The search does not include Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) or Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI) funds from 1965 to the present.
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Insurance Service · Official site: insurance.va.gov · Verified 2026-10-21
USA.gov unclaimed money hub
USAGov (General Services Administration)
Index
Nothing itself; this is the federal index page that links each type of unclaimed money to the agency database that holds it.
Who: Anyone checking for money owed by federal agencies or by states.
Open USA.gov unclaimed money page
The government's own index of these and other databases, including bank failures, bankruptcy funds, and unpaid wages.
Source: USAGov (General Services Administration) · Official site: www.usa.gov · Verified 2026-10-21
Published figures
IRS unclaimed refunds: $1,159,244,200 in total potential refunds for tax year 2022, across an estimated 1,322,600 people (median potential refund $686, excluding credits).
Source: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) · Figure source: IRS release IR-2026-37, irs.gov · Figure as of 2026-03-20 · Verified 2026-10-21
PBGC unclaimed pensions: about 60,000 people located but still unpaid in the Missing Participants Program as of December 31, 2025.
Source: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) · Figure source: PBGC report on expanding the Missing Participants Program, pbgc.gov · Figure as of 2025-12-31 · Verified 2026-10-21
No combined total is shown. The programs publish unlike units - dollars for one tax year, counts of people, a share of bonds issued - and some publish no figure at all.