It is estimated that Rs.1,50,000 crores are lying unclaimed in India. 

Some of it could be yours. 

How?

Well, if there is ever an ‘investment’ or a ‘saving’ that you made years ago and forgot, it’s a part of that whopping amount that I just mentioned. 

Or it could be part of the money that your near and dear ones have left behind for you, which you are not aware of. 

All of this money is lying unclaimed with Financial Institutions and Regulators in the form of Dormant Bank Accounts, Unclaimed Dividends, Shares, Mutual funds, Unclaimed Insurance, Unclaimed Provident Funds and Pension

Why are we seeing such a large unclaimed amount of money in India? 

It boils down to 2 simple reasons.

Reason 1

Many people fail to keep a record and track all their investments. 

Most people fail to do so in the hustle bustle of life and in pursuit of their ambitions. 

Some forget their investments as they change jobs or move to multiple cities. They have multiple bank accounts, insurance policies, mutual fund investments made at various points in their life, which are not tracked, and, in the process, forgotten. 

The money may be held up because of KYC not being completed. In yet other cases Investments had been made in physical form, and not digitised. For example, physical shares not being converted into their dematerialised counterparts.  Existence Certificate not submitted to Pension and superannuation funds. All this may lead to a lot of money being stuck with Financial Institutions.

The Company/financial institution might have failed to locate Investors for dividends and other pay-outs as contact numbers and bank details may have changed over the years but the investor forgot to update them with the company.

Reason 2. 

Not Sharing Financial Data with Family members, heirs, nominees.

It often happens that people don’t share even the basic financial details with their family members, due to various reasons, trust being the foremost. Therefore, in case of any untoward incident or death, the family members find it difficult to claim the amounts from the financial institutions. The money, thus, remains with the Financial institution.

Even nominees and legal heirs may fail to stake a claim if they are not aware of such assets.

This is often the case if one dies without making a will and/or not making a proper nomination.

I had recently initiated a survey on Personal Financial Management and the results were not surprising.

More than 40% of the respondents did not have a written record of their personal investments, 87% had not made their will and more than 80% stated that their family members were not aware of all of their investments. 

If you relate to any of the above reasons and claims then take some time out and answer the following questions. As you will get a conclusion to the above brief. write down your answers, you will know what went wrong, or right, and it will make you more aware about your financial health.

• Is your money lying unclaimed? Some of your Treasure may be hidden. 
• Have you prepared a Personal Net Worth Statement, which is a statement of what YOU OWN (Your Assets and Investments) and what YOU OWE (Your Loans and Liabilities? 
• Have you made your Will and/or are your family members, heirs, nominees aware of your finances, so that in case of any untoward incident, your family is not left in the lurch? 

Comment down your conclusions below in the comments sections