7 TIPS for Getting Money from Massachusetts

Have you ever worked for the state of Massachusetts? If so, you could be owed money. Yup, there’s millions of dollars waiting to be claimed right now. But unless the state manages to find you, you might never know you have cash lying in its coffers .

1. Are you talking about that list of names I see once in a while in the paper? 

No, this money is not abandoned property: money in forgotten bank accounts, stuff in safe deposit boxes, uncollected paychecks and stocks. What we’re talking about is different money.

2. So where is this cash coming from? 

It’s in retirement accounts for former state employees and public school teachers. The treasurer’s office has a pot of about $13 million of this money. Some of it has been uncollected for years.  And even if you did not retire from state service, you could have money coming your way.

3. How could people not remember their retirement accounts?

Reason one: they left state government to work for the private sector before retirement age and then forgot about the money. There are thousands of such forgotten accounts.   Reason two: they’re dead.

4. If they’ve died, wouldn’t their heirs know about the money?

State employees choose the beneficiary of their retirement account. So say a former pal, aunt, grandfather—or secret significant other—who worked for the state designated you as the recipient of the account without telling you. Then, for whatever reason, the state couldn’t find you when the employee died. Your money is now sitting there, waiting to be claimed. Some beneficiaries have been on the treasurer’s list for as many as 30 years.

5. Well, how would I find out I’m owed money? 

There are about 13,000 people who have money coming to them but there is no public list of these names published anywhere. There is a list online of the deceased state employees who have missing beneficiaries—but again, it doesn’t list to whom they left the money.  So, who should the money go to?  Only the treasurer’s office knows.

6. How would anyone find out they have money if there’s no list?

The treasurer’s office says beneficiary names and information are not public record and should not be listed in the newspaper or anywhere online. 

7. So what should I do if I think I’m owed money?

The treasurer’s office has one part-time staffer in the retirement office, on the hunt for these people, making calls and sending letters. So they may find you.  If you think you forgot about a retirement account or think someone could have designated you as a beneficiary, you can call the State Board of Retirement at (617) 367-7770 or at 1-800-392-6014 (in Massachusetts only).

Award-winning investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is on the air at Boston’s NBC affiliate where she has broken big stories for the past 22 years. She has won 24 Emmys as well as dozens of other regional, national and international honors for her work. (http://www.hankphillippiryan.com). Mary Schwager is a journalist with more than 16 years of experience and is the investigative producer at 7 News. She’s won more than two dozen awards for investigative, consumer and feature reporting and writing, including nine Emmy Awards, seven Edward R. Murrow Awards and three Associated Press honors. She was also a state licensed detective and performed criminal investigations on behalf of the Wisconsin Public Defender’s Office. Find more of Mary’s articles at the Boston Examiner. Ryan and Schwager can be contacted at hryan@whdh.com and mschwager@whdh.com.