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Treasury official tells Elk County commissioners $5 billion in unclaimed property exists statewide; Elk County share about $3.9 million
Summary
A Pennsylvania Treasury representative told Elk County commissioners the state holds more than $5 billion in unclaimed property, and Elk County’s share totals roughly $3.9 million; he urged residents to search patreasury.gov and described state programs including Keystone Scholars and PA ABLE.
Steve Schoep, a program relationships manager with the Pennsylvania Treasury, told Elk County commissioners that the Treasury manages roughly $180 billion in state funds and holds more than $5,000,000,000 in unclaimed property statewide. "We have over $5,000,000,000 on unclaimed property," Schoep said, adding, "Elk County alone... has $3,900,000."
Why it matters: Unclaimed property includes forgotten payroll, dormant gift card balances and contents from safe-deposit boxes; funds remain available to rightful owners in perpetuity until claimed. Schoep said many county residents and local entities are likely to have recoverable funds and offered to assist people in searching the database after the meeting.
Details from the briefing: Schoep described the range of unclaimed assets the Treasury handles — from small balances and uncashed checks to physical items kept in a state vault — and said the agency auctions physical items twice a year while retaining the monetary value for rightful owners. He advised claimants to search the database using last name and ZIP code, because overly specific searches can exclude results, and identified the public entry point as patreasury.gov. "If anybody's interested, after the meeting, you want me to look up something? I can see the full detail," Schoep told commissioners.
Schoep also summarized other Treasury consumer programs the county could use: Keystone Scholars, which places $100 into an education savings account for children born to Pennsylvania parents on or after Jan. 1, 2019; PA ABLE, a tax-advantaged savings option that protects benefits eligibility for people with disabilities; and an Invest program that allows eligible nonprofits and local governments to pool funds for short-term investment. He described Keystone Scholars as an early, no-cost incentive to encourage college savings and said PA ABLE accounts can help families save without risking means-tested benefits.
What residents can do next: Schoep said county residents, schools and local businesses can check for unclaimed property at patreasury.gov and that Treasury staff or local representatives can assist with searches and claims. He offered to run lookups from his laptop immediately after the meeting for anyone who wished to follow up.
The commissioners did not take formal action on the presentation; Schoep’s outreach and offers of assistance were informational and the meeting moved on to planning resolutions.
