£557m dormant cash: how to claim forgotten money

More than £557 million has been transferred into the Treasury’s Dormant Assets Scheme since 2022, yet just 11 per cent of that sum has been reclaimed by its rightful owners.

A dormant account is defined as one that has seen no deposits or withdrawals for 15 years and whose provider cannot trace the holder, often after a move, a bank switch or simple forgetfulness.

Freedom of Information requests obtained by Confused.com show that over 4.4 million accounts were declared dormant between 2022 and 2025, feeding the scheme with the £557 million total.

Reclaim Fund Ltd, the body that administers the scheme, is legally obliged to return any money that surfaces, regardless of how long it has lain idle.

Between 2022 and 2025, claimants recovered £62.7 million – roughly one in ten of the money that entered the scheme – with the average successful claimant receiving £1,011.

Premium Bonds present a parallel source of forgotten cash: as of March 2025, more than 2.5 million prizes worth £97 million remain unclaimed.

The unclaimed Premium Bond pool has risen 21 per cent since 2022, when £80 million was still waiting to be claimed, and a recent survey found that 29 per cent of bondholders have never checked for a prize.

London accounts for the largest regional share of unclaimed Premium Bond winnings at £14.5 million, while Northern Ireland holds the smallest at £1.1 million.

The same survey of 2,000 UK adults revealed that 39 per cent use three or more separate banking or financial apps, and 5 per cent admit they do not keep track of any of their savings or accounts.

Nearly half of respondents – 46 per cent – said they simply forgot an account existed, and a further 18 per cent blamed the spread of money across too many providers.

“With finances stretched for so many households, it’s worth remembering that forgotten money is far more common than people realise.” It’s easy to assume this money is gone for good, but it almost never is.

Evans advises a quick audit of all current and past accounts, stressing that “forgotten money does not expire and it belongs to you, so tracking down an old account or an unclaimed prize could give your finances a real lift for very little effort.”

She adds that the hardest part is simply remembering to check, urging households to set aside dedicated time to review statements, online banking dashboards and any Premium Bond records.

With household budgets under pressure, the potential boost from reclaimed funds could be a timely relief – provided people take the few minutes needed to uncover what is already theirs.