My fellow State Financial Officers and I are committed to reuniting Americans with their dollars. We work on this issue daily with Unclaimed Property Programs in every state, and recognize the importance of making sure the people can regain custody of their own money.
In working on this issue, we have discovered a concerning number of Unredeemed Savings Bonds that millions of Americans are unaware that they have. During the height of World War II, and in the years since, Americans have stepped up to help fund the government by purchasing savings bonds from our nation. These have been good investments and played a crucial role when our nation needed the funds. Unfortunately, there are millions of savings bonds that have long passed their maturation date, and the federal government has been insufficient in trying reunite Americans and their heirs with these dollars.
Current estimates show $39 billion in matured, unredeemed savings bonds are outstanding. The federal government must stop treating these as federal assets, and recognize that they are the private property of American families.
We have state unclaimed property programs that work wonderfully and reunite families with billions in lost property every year. The federal government should utilize these programs, and not hide behind a flawed federal lost and found system, and immediately transfer these assets to the states so that we can finally reunite families with these dollars.
I’m proud to fight for our citizens on this issue, and will continue to work with stakeholders to make it happen.
Read the letter here:
https://sfof.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Savings-Bond-Letter.pdf
