Claim your unclaimed dues NOW!

Did you know more than ₹31,000 crores is lying without being claimed?

Why? 

Read on.

There are various reasons why investors fail to claim their dues running into lakhs from various financial institutions like banks, insurers, post offices and mutual fund houses, among others.

To shortlist a few – 

1. Investors do not keep their family members informed about investments
2. People change their addresses but often forget to update it with financial institutions
3. Shares or bond certificates may be lost or misplaced
4. Legal heirs find it difficult to stake claim due to legal hurdles.

Despite efforts by the regulators – RBI, IRDAI and SEBI- and introduction of technology-enabled services to make the process simpler the unclaimed amounts continue to be alarmingly high.

Here’s how you can get your unclaimed dues.

.   Stocks and corporate bonds

Access to unclaimed shares is significant at this juncture, given that the deadline, 5 December, for converting physical shares into demat form is fast approaching. After the deadline, shares held in physical form will not be allowed to be transferred.

It is time to dig out long-forgotten investments and ensure that they do not become worthless. 

There was a case where a client found our that her deceased mother owned shares of multiple companies that we intended to be bequeathed to her. However, her mother had forgotten to nominate her in any of the companies. Since the value of shares ran into crores, it was mandatory for her to obtain a succession certificate from the district court. After the formalities were completes, she got shares worth Rs. 1.5 crores.

If an investor dies without making a will, or appointing a nominee, the heirs will have to approach the concerned financial entity. They will have to provide the deceased’s death certificate or may have to provide a succession certificate to stake their claim.

If the value of physical shares is less than Rs. 2 lakhs (Rs. 5 lakhs in case of demat shares), heirs will need to get the ‘legal heir’ certificate from the divisional or sub-divisional magistrate.If it more than Rs. 2 lakhs (Rs. 5 lakhs in case of demat shares), heirs need to get a succession certificate from the court. 

If share certificates or company deposit proofs have been lost, the investor will have to approach the company and furnish the required KYC documents to establish their credentials.

Life insurance proceeds

IRDAI requires all insurers to facilitate policyholders or their nominees to track unclaimed amounts on their websites. 

Policyholders forget to claim survival benefits or insurers lose contact with them or their nominees due to change of address, bank accounts or mobile numbers.

If you suspect that you have a claim, you can use the search facility on the insurer’s website, even if you do not have the policy number. For instance, Life Insurance Corporation of India’s website requires just the policyholder’s name and date of birth.

For claiming death benefits, the necessary documents include death certificate and documents certifying the nominee’s identity.

To claim the maturity amount, the policyholder is required to submit the surrender form along with cancelled cheque or bank passbook and PAN card copy.

Money not claimed for more than 10 years as on 30 September will be transferred to the Senior Citizens’ Welfare Fund.  Even after this period, beneficiaries can claim the amount from the insurers, who will, in turn, claim it back from the government.

Bank savings and deposits

When people change jobs, employers insist on opening salary accounts with particular banks. People often do no operate their earlier accounts and it turns inoperative. 

Refunds from agencies like the Income Tax Department or credit of refundable deposits by some service providers may languish in accounts no longer used.

Any sum that has not been claimed for more than 10 years is to be transferred to Depositor Education and Awareness Fund. Like insurers, banks too are required to provide a search facility to their customers for identifying unclaimed deposits.

Mutual Fund redemption

All fund houses and the Association of Mutual Funds in India offer an online facility to investors to track unclaimed redemption proceeds or dividends.

To find out if you have any unclaimed funds online, furnish any two of the following details : PAN, folio number, date of birth, e-mail ID and bank account information.

Till a claimant steps forward, mutual funds are allowed to park the unclaimed money in market instruments, liquid and money market schemes specifically introduced for their purpose. 

If you claim this amount within 3 years of the due date, you will get the amount along with the returns that it earns during the period.  If after 3 years from the due date, you will get the amount along with the returns over a 3-years period, not for the entire period. 

Returns earned on such funds beyond 3 years are used for investor education.

Post office savings scheme

Most salaried employees invest in post-office schemes due to assured returns but lose track in the process of transferring the accounts from one post office to another. 

For settlements, it is advisable that the person approach the post office where the investment was made and produce KYC documents to claim the amount. Legal heirs will have to follow the standard legal process.

Inoperative PF accounts

With the introduction of Universal Account Number (UAN), reclaiming accumulated balance from Employees’ Provident Fund has become easier.

An account becomes inoperative if the claim has been settles but the money has not been remitted due to lack of latest address or the subscriber has retired from service, migrated abroad permanently or has passed away but the EPFO has not received a withdrawal application for 36 months or if the amount remitted remains undelivered and has not been claimed within 36 months.

You can proactively transfer the PF balance to prevent your account from becoming inoperative. You can also withdraw the sum, if eligible. You will have to log in to the portal using the UAN and apply for settlement.

To withdraw the amount, get in touch with your previous employer who will initiate the process through the EPF office where the contributions were made. 

If the PF account is too old, you will have to approach the employer for the PF account details to claim EPF and EPS offline.