Billions in forgotten savings bonds could be waiting for you

Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek is urging the White House to help states reunite Americans with an estimated $39 billion in matured but unredeemed U.S. savings bonds.

Malek said the money belongs to bondholders or their heirs, but states cannot effectively locate them because the federal government has not provided enough identifying information.

“These are not federal assets,” Malek said in an interview with Newstalk KZRG. “This money is private property which is owed to American families and their heirs.”

The Treasury Department has issued more than 6.8 billion paper savings bonds since 1935. Although most were redeemed, millions remain unclaimed because their owners died, lost the certificates or forgot about them.

Congress directed the Treasury Department through the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 to share certain bondholder information with states.

Malek said federal rules have created a “catch-22,” requiring states to take ownership of bonds while limiting their access to the information needed to find the owners.

Malek and financial officers from about 30 other states are asking President Donald Trump to remove those restrictions through executive action.

Missouri already holds more than $1.5 billion in unclaimed property. The treasurer’s office returned nearly $61 million during fiscal year 2026, according to state records. Missourians can search for unclaimed property at ShowMeMoney.com.

A separate list of savings bonds physically held by the state is available through the treasurer’s website.

Malek also warned that Missouri faces tighter budgets as federal pandemic relief money runs out.

He said the state budget has fallen from about $52 billion to $49.6 billion and expressed confidence that lawmakers will keep spending balanced.