HEIDELBERG TWP., Pa. — The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has its hands in your pockets again.
This time, for a deposit, not a withdrawal.
On Wednesday in Heidelberg Township, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity continued her cross-state tour of informing residents about a program that returns unclaimed money and property that belongs to them.
Pennsylvania Money Match is a new program that lets the state treasury return certain unclaimed property to its rightful owners.
Money Match checks totaling more than $1.7 million were mailed out this week to nearly 7,400 residents.
“It’s a real program, with real money and it belongs to you.”Stacy Garrity, Pennsylvania Treasurer
More than $63 million is waiting for Lehigh County residents.
From that, 267 Lehigh Valley residents already have or will get Money Match checks, according to the state treasury department.
To date, Lehigh County has 170 claims totaling $32,569.97. Northampton County has 97 claims totaling $31,365.68.
Garrity said the checks are real and if you get one in your mailbox, the money belongs to you automatically.
“Most people didn’t know they were getting money until the treasury reached out to them,” Garrity said. “It’s a real program, with real money and it belongs to you.”
$4.5 billion in unclaimed property
Money Match checks will be sent quarterly, Garrity said. The next batch of letters will be mailed to 40,000 people in May, with checks to follow by mid-June.
More than 1 in 10 Pennsylvanians is owed some of the $4.5 billion in unclaimed property. The average value of a claim is $1,600.
Letters will be sent quarterly notifying residents they will be getting property and/or money.
“The goal is to give $20 million back to people in the first year.”Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity
“The goal is to give $20 million back to people in the first year,” said Garrity, whose office is responsible for returning $850 million in unclaimed property since she assumed office in January 2021.
More than $4.5 billion in unclaimed property is being safeguarded in the treasury’s vault.
Unclaimed property includes dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, insurance policies, tangible property such as the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes, and more.
Like a guitar autographed by the Rolling Stones.
“We have three autographed guitars — Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N’ Roses and the Rolling Stones,” Garrity said.
“We have items from abandoned safe deposit boxes. We have a plethora of military decorations.
"Next week, we’re going to return a Purple Heart to a family from someone from World War I. So far, we’ve given back 472 decorations.”
Regarding the guitars, if the owners cannot be located, they will be sold at an online auction.
'Get property back to the people'
Garrity was joined at the news conference by state Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-16th District, and state Rep. Gary Day, R-187th District.
“My office has helped get people the money they’re owed,” Coleman said. “But a lot of people weren’t aware that the state owned the money.
"In my district, people were owed $100,000. A lot of them thought it was a scam."State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-16th District
"In my district, people were owed $100,000. A lot of them thought it was a scam. I even got something back from when I worked at Bear Creek Ski Lodge, my first job. It was $30.”
Day saluted Garrity’s diligence in returning unclaimed property to state residents.
“She jumps into this with two feet and makes it her own and even better than intended legislatively to get property back to the people,” he said.
Money Match authorizes the treasury to automatically return single-owner properties valued up to $500 after a thorough identification and verification process.
At least 14 states have successfully implemented similar programs.
Pennsylvania residents can learn if they are owed anything from Money Match by going to www.patreasury.org/unclaimed-property.
