The state may owe you money

Have you ever left a job without going back to get your last paycheck? Have you ever forgotten to cash a health insurance check? Have you ever moved without getting your utility deposit refund?
In instances like these, New York State law requires banks, insurance companies and other businesses to protect customers by surrendering their inactive accounts to the office of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who serves as a custodian of this money until citizens reclaim it.
It usually takes between two and five years for accounts to be considered unclaimed or abandoned, according to DiNapoli’s office.
As long as citizens can prove their entitlement to the money, no matter when it was abandoned, the state returns it to them free of charge. However, if citizens enlist somebody else’s help in claiming the funds, the party is allowed to charge up to 15 percent of the reclaimed amount, according to DiNapoli’s office.
“We want to return this money to its rightful owners,” DiNapoli said, explaining that over the years his office has accumulated $9 billion of unclaimed funds. “The money belongs to New Yorkers. We want to give it back.”
One way to find out if you have any abandoned money is to attend one the fund claiming events throughout the state organized by DiNapoli’s staff. Four events like that are scheduled this month in Queens.
The first one is in Flushing, in the Student Union Ballroom in Queens College, on September 20, at 10 a.m.
On September 24, employees from DiNapoli’s office will be in the Self Help Maspeth Senior Center, at 69-61 Grand Avenue, at 10 a.m.
On September 25, there will be an event in the Woodside Senior Center, at 50-37 Newtown Road, at 10:30 a.m.
The last event is on September 27th in St. John’s Ridgewood United Methodist Church, on 17-37 Linden Street, at 10 a.m.
New Yorkers can also check for unclaimed funds by going online, at www.osc.state.ny.us, where they can fill out a form, then print it and send it to the comptroller’s office. Another way to check for funds is to call the toll-free 1-800-221-9311 number.
“In these tough economic times we need to take advantage of every resource: a few extra dollars could make all the difference,” said Councilmember Joseph Addabbo, who co-hosts one of the events about unclaimed funds.