There are millions of dollars in unredeemed U.S. Savings Bonds waiting to be returned to Missourians, Zweifel said. With this legislation, I will be able to help Missourians get back their money currently held by the federal government when their bonds have been misplaced or lost.

House Bill 1693, sponsored by Rep. Jay Barnes (R-Jefferson City), authorizes Zweifels office to initiate legal action in order to obtain title to the matured savings bonds in his possession. This will allow him to safeguard the cash value of the bonds for their owners and enable his unclaimed property team to begin the process of returning the proceeds to their rightful owners. When fully implemented, Missourians will be able to search for and claim these proceeds through the Treasurers Unclaimed Property database at ShowMeMoney.com.

Zweifel currently holds more than 7,000 bonds with an estimated value of $1 million. The treasurers Office holds more than $810 million in unclaimed property for more than 4.7 million owners. In Fiscal Year 2013, he returned a record breaking $39.5 million to more than 135,000 accounts.

About Treasurer Zweifels Unclaimed Property

Missouri state law requires financial institutions, insurance companies, public agencies and other business entities to turn over assets to the office of the treasurer that belong to a customer, client, employee or other owner if there have been no documented transactions or contact with the owner for five or more years. Most unclaimed property, still totaling $810 million, consists of cash from bank accounts, stocks, bonds and contents of safe deposit boxes that have been abandoned. It also can include uncollected insurance policy proceeds, government refunds, utility deposits and wages from past jobs. Real property such as land and houses or certain types of personal property such as cars and boats are not included. There is no charge for property return.

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