Auditor’s office consults with congressman on U.S. Savings Bonds

Auditor of State Dennis Milligan is launching a national effort to influence the United States Treasury to return unclaimed savings bonds to state unclaimed property programs, and his office is seeking help from U.S. Rep. French Hill (AR-02). Milligan’s office met with representatives from Rep. Hill’s office on Tuesday.
The U.S. Treasury is in possession of more than $32 billion in savings bonds nationwide; $234 million of those are owed to current or former Arkansans. In a final rule published last December, the U.S. Treasury established regulations to provide information to states about U.S. savings bonds owed to their citizens, but the process is arduous, Milligan said.
“This process not only creates more work for the person whose money it rightfully is, it will make it extremely difficult for states to know any details about the bonds, such as when – or even if – the money is on its way to Arkansans,” Milligan explained. “It makes it very difficult for me to serve my constituents.”
Savings bonds are one form of unclaimed property Milligan’s office handles. Unclaimed property can be any financial account deemed abandoned or dormant for a number of years, including but not limited to: checking or savings accounts; utility deposits that were not returned; overpayments; life insurance proceeds; and stock or mutual fund shares. In some cases, it includes tangible items left behind in safe deposit boxes.

“The federal government shouldn’t be making it difficult for people to claim their U.S. savings bonds, but the fact is, that’s exactly what they’re doing with this ruling published in the final hours of the Biden administration,” Milligan said. “I’m working with Congressman Hill to help get this money back into Arkansans’ hands quicker and with less government red tape.
“I appreciate Chairman Hill’s dedication to Arkansas and his work on Capitol Hill in always putting our state’s needs first,” Milligan said.
Rep. Hill is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
To check Arkansas’ unclaimed property database, people may visit www.claimitar.gov. The national database is www.missingmoney.com. Since Milligan has been in office, he has returned more than $72 million in unclaimed funds to current or former Arkansans.