Australians could be $1 billion richer...if they reclaimed it

The government is holding $1 billion dollars worth of unclaimed funds owned by Australians who have completely forgotten about them.

ASIC released yet another reminder recently for Aussies to do an unclaimed money search and find out if there are funds being held under their names.

This could be a timely reminder for some coming up to tax time looking to dust out old bank accounts, shares, investments or life insurance policies for a pretty penny.

When Australians haven’t withdrawn from or deposited funds into these types of accounts for seven years, the government funnels the money into its Consolidated Revenue Fund.

People forget about funds for all sorts of reasons like emigrating overseas or moving houses often, according to government website MoneySmart. Luckily there is no time limit for their rightful owners to reclaim funds, and the dollars build up in interest over time.

An Adelaide resident told Newscorp this week he found out he had $1,406 worth in unclaimed money from an energy company after the government tracked him down. He said is was probably because his wife paid the bills twice by mistake.

To check if you’re the rightful owner of unclaimed cash, visit MoneySmart and type in your name to search.

Didn’t find your name on the unclaimed money register? That’s okay, there are other ways to dig up money...

• Switch energy plans to save tens of dollars in a matter of minutes on your lunch break. All you need to do is type in your post code and household size to see how much less you could be spending.
• Ditch the extra features on your home loan and refinance to a more cost-efficient one via our hub here.
• Consolidate your debts and pay less in interest with a personal loan or transfer the balance over to a 0% balance transfer credit card.