A CBS News California investigation into unclaimed property is now drawing bipartisan attention in Washington, with federal lawmakers moving to stop states from quietly profiting off money that belongs to residents.
California alone holds more than $15 billion in unclaimed property from uncashed checks, old bank accounts, insurance payments, investments and other financial assets — money that, in many cases, owners don’t even realize exists.
Until it’s claimed, the state can use those funds for general operations, but it is still required to return the original amount to the rightful owner if they come forward later.
According to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office and state budget documents, unclaimed property remains one of California’s top sources of General Fund revenue, generating about $1 billion annually.
While the state is required to notify people of their unclaimed property, it has returned roughly 3.5% of the more than $15 billion in funds and assets it holds.
Across the country, states collectively hold tens of billions of dollars in unclaimed property, and in some cases use those funds to support general operations or specific state projects.
But CBS News California Investigates found the impact on individuals can be significant — even when money is eventually returned, owners may never recover what those assets could have been worth over time.
Federal lawmakers move on bipartisan legislation
Democratic Rep. Sam Liccardo and Republican Rep. Mike Lawler are introducing the Safeguarding Americans’ Fairly Earned Retirement (SAFER) Act, a bill that would significantly restrict when states can take custody of securities, digital assets, or investment accounts under unclaimed property laws.
Currently, states can take custody of financial accounts after a set period of inactivity — often as short as three years — even if the owner is still alive and unaware their assets are at risk of being transferred.
Under the proposal, states would be prohibited from taking custody of these assets unless the owner is confirmed deceased, or in the case of retirement-age accounts, only after repeated death checks and extended periods with no contact from the owner or fiduciary.
The bill would override state unclaimed property laws by blocking financial institutions from turning over those types of assets to states unless the federal conditions are met.
Supporters say the goal is simple: ensure Americans, not state governments, benefit from the long-term growth of their investments.
“This is absurd,” Liccardo said. “The reason people invest in long-term retirement is because they expect these assets to appreciate over time — and they should get the benefit of that appreciation.”
Lawler said the current system creates a lack of accountability.
“There’s no incentive for them to actually notify the individual,” Lawler said. “They just collect the interest in the hope that the person never notices.”
He added that bipartisan agreement on the issue is growing, calling the system fundamentally unfair to taxpayers.
“These are the hard-earned dollars of Americans… and they’re being taken right out from under them by the government,” he said. “That’s just not right.”
Calls for national review
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is now calling for a nationwide review of state unclaimed property systems, citing reporting that includes CBS News California Investigates.
“We started hearing a story here, a story there, saw reporting like yours, but also noticed that more states are starting to change their laws — not to return money, but to scoop up more for the state,” Warren told CBS News California.
In a formal letter to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), Warren requested detailed, state-by-state data on how unclaimed property systems operate and how they are changing.
She wrote that reporting has shown “an increase in the number of Americans losing their hard-earned savings and investments to states’ coffers,” raising what she called “serious investor protection concerns.”
Warren is seeking information on how states define and trigger abandoned property, how long dormancy periods last and whether they have been shortened, how much money is collected versus returned, whether states use outside auditors, and how those firms are compensated. She also asked how states locate owners and whether policy changes are increasing the amount of property being escheated.
She raised concern that many states have shifted from a “Returned by Post Office” standard, where dormancy begins only when mail is undeliverable, to a broader “inactivity” standard, where assets can be seized even if account statements are still reaching the owner.
Warren warned these changes “have significant implications for Americans’ financial security,” particularly for long-term investors who may not regularly monitor accounts.
The letter also notes that in 2024, states returned $4.49 billion to owners, compared with an estimated $70 billion in unclaimed property nationwide, underscoring what she describes as a persistent gap between funds collected and funds returned.
Warren has requested responses from NAUPA by May 1, 2026.
NAUPA response
In response, NAUPA pushed back on the characterization of state programs.
“State unclaimed property programs are consumer protection programs,” the group said. “Without unclaimed property programs, lost or forgotten assets would often remain indefinitely with private companies and never be returned to the rightful owner.”
NAUPA said state systems exist to safeguard funds and reunite them with owners through searchable databases, outreach, and other efforts that return billions each year.
The group added that most states allow perpetual claims and emphasized that the “overwhelming majority of states” follow that principle.
What CBS News California found
California’s unclaimed property program is not just a consumer issue. It is also a major financial tool for the state.
The state holds billions in unclaimed funds, earns interest on that money, and is not required to return the interest if the original owner later claims it.
That interest contributes to roughly $1 billion in annual revenue for the state.
While some states automatically return money to claimants, California does not.
A warning raised years ago
Concerns about California’s system are not new.
More than a decade ago, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office analyzed the state’s unclaimed funds and found that unclaimed property was already the fifth-largest source of General Fund revenue at the time of its 2015 budget analysis.
At that time, the LAO estimated unclaimed property generated roughly $452 million annually.
The report found:
- Unclaimed property was already the fifth-largest source of General Fund revenue.
- The state returned about $4 out of every $10 it collected.
- Lawmakers should consider doing more to reunite owners with their money.
Today, that revenue has more than doubled. In the 2024–25 budget year, unclaimed property is estimated to generate about $1 billion, and is still ranking among California’s top General Fund revenue sources.
More recent state data shows California has begun improving outreach efforts, including expanded notice programs and targeted prescreening for higher-value accounts.
In January, the State Controller’s Office began sending notices to individuals with between $500 and $5,000 in unclaimed property.
Officials say nearly 100,000 letters were mailed and more than $25 million has been returned to over 22,000 Californians.
That is a small fraction of the more $15 billion in unclaimed property in the state’s possession. To date, California has returned just $534 million to rightful owners – roughly 3.5%.
A system most people don’t know exists
The issue recently caught the attention of KABC radio host Randy Wang, who said he only looked into the system after hearing CBS reporting.
“The state government or federal government doesn’t get to take money that is owed to us and use it for whatever they want because it’s sitting in a bank account,” he said.
He later searched his name during a commercial break and found $300 owed to him.
“That is my money. I earned that money. I’m glad to have that money back,” Wang said.
Still, he said the broader issue is awareness.
“Our tax systems are able to find you when you owe money,” he said, but noted that when the state owes you money, “You can’t find us. How difficult is this?”
Similar concerns nationwide
California is not alone in facing scrutiny.
In Ohio, lawmakers previously explored using unclaimed funds to help finance a new Cleveland Browns stadium, prompting backlash and legal challenges.
In Delaware, a widely cited case involved Amazon stock purchased in the 1990s. The shares were seized as unclaimed property, sold by the state, and later valued at a fraction of their potential worth when the owner attempted to reclaim them.
Even when funds are returned, critics say owners may never recover lost appreciation.
When investments are sold
For Californians with unclaimed investments, the consequences can be even more significant.
Under current law, California is required to liquidate unclaimed stocks and other securities within roughly 20 months.
That means when owners eventually come forward, they receive only the value at the time the assets were sold — not any gains, dividends, or appreciation that would have accumulated over time.
In practice, that can mean losing years of investment growth that would have occurred if the assets had remained untouched.
A report from the Investment Company Institute warns that when states take control of unclaimed investments, a process known as “escheatment,” they are often quickly sold, with long-term consequences for owners.
“When securities escheat to a state, the state will, in most cases, liquidate the securities to support the state’s operating revenue,” the report found.
The report also warns that current laws can create incentives for states to expand unclaimed property programs, noting that using these funds to support state budgets may encourage more aggressive efforts to take control of accounts in the first place.
What’s next
The SAFER Act would require states to leave unclaimed investments in place — rather than liquidating them — unless the owner is confirmed deceased with no heirs.
Lawmakers say the goal is to ensure unclaimed assets continue to grow in value until they are claimed.
In the meantime, Californians can search for unclaimed property at the state’s official database.
