Treasury says new Money Match letters, vault auctions and outreach boosted unclaimed property returns

The Pennsylvania Treasury told the House Appropriations Committee it returned a record $272 million in unclaimed property in calendar 2024 and has moved to accelerate payments through a new program called Pennsylvania Money Match.

The program, enacted as Act 81 of 2024, allows the Treasury to issue up to $500 automatically to single account owners without a claim; the department sent an initial batch of about 8,500 letters in January and plans to send about 40,000 each quarter.

Treasury officials said the office also runs outreach events across the state, operates the nation’s largest working vault, and stages two online auctions a year for property that remains unclaimed after statutory searches. "Pennsylvania Money Match allows us, for the first time ever, to return up to $500 automatically, to single account owners," Treasurer Garrity told the committee. She said the first trial batch will return roughly $2 million, and the program could scale to return about $20 million annually if fully rolled out.

Representative Flood, who led questions on unclaimed property, noted that Treasury has returned more than $700 million to owners during Garrity’s tenure. Garrity said Treasury received $4.5 billion in unclaimed property holdings and processed a record 220,000 claims in 2024. "Last calendar year in 2024, Treasury returned the most amount ever in a single year... $272,000,000 and we had the most claims ever processed, 220,000 claims," Garrity said.

The department detailed other customer‑facing work: vault tours to help locate owners, frequent legislative outreach, and a planned mailing of checks to caucuses to help verify recipients and counter scam concerns. Garrity noted some unclaimed items are tangible artifacts—rare coins and jewelry up to high‑value items such as autographed guitars—which the department auctions online with a vendor based in Downingtown. She said the most recent fall auction netted about $605,000 and the next auction was scheduled at the end of the month.

Garrity also emphasized efforts to return funds to local governments and other non‑individual claimants. She said Treasury has returned $16.3 million to county and municipal governments during her administration, and cited examples including Bedford County and Taylor Township.

Committee members asked how constituents can find funds. Garrity repeated the department’s public guidance: search patreasury.gov/unclaimedproperty and file a claim online; simple claims are often fast‑tracked and can clear in under two weeks. She also offered legislative offices expedited assistance and said Treasury outreach staff will participate in community events and legislative meetings to promote the program.

The committee did not take a formal vote on any item related to unclaimed property at the hearing. Officials said they will provide members additional written detail about the Money Match pilot and the department’s mailing plans.