How much money is unclaimed in India?
As of 2024, over ₹1.84 lakh crore sits unclaimed across various government and financial institutions in India. This includes forgotten provident fund balances, unclaimed dividends from listed companies, dormant bank deposits, matured insurance policies, and abandoned mutual fund holdings.
The government has launched several portals to help citizens find this money, but the challenge is that each source has its own separate portal. There is no single place where you can check all of them together — until now.
The 6 sources of unclaimed money
Here are the six major sources where your money might be sitting, and how much is unclaimed in each:
1. IEPF — Unclaimed dividends and shares (₹5,685 Cr + 117 Cr shares)
When a company declares a dividend and the shareholder doesn't claim it for 7 years, the money is transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Along with the dividend, the underlying shares are also transferred.
This commonly happens when you change your address, close a bank account linked to your demat, or simply forget about old investments. You can search for unclaimed dividends on the IEPF portal using your PAN or name.
2. EPFO — Inoperative PF accounts (₹8,500 Cr)
Every time you change jobs, a new PF account is created. If you don't transfer the old balance to the new account, it becomes inoperative after 3 years of no contribution. The money keeps earning interest but you might forget about it entirely.
Search using your PAN on the EPFO unified portal to find all UANs linked to your PAN. Each UAN represents a PF account that may have a balance.
3. UDGAM (RBI) — Dormant bank deposits (₹78,000 Cr)
Bank accounts that haven't been operated for 10 years or more are classified as unclaimed deposits. The money is transferred to the RBI's Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund, but you can still claim it.
RBI launched the UDGAM portal — it searches across 30+ banks in one place. You need to register with your mobile number and search using your PAN.
4. LIC — Unclaimed policy amounts (₹15,000+ Cr)
Matured LIC policies where the policyholder didn't collect the maturity amount, death claims not filed by nominees, or survival benefits left uncollected — all of these add up.
You can search on the LIC unclaimed amounts portal using your PAN and date of birth.
5. Mutual funds — Unclaimed redemptions and dividends (₹17,880 Cr)
Old SIPs that were stopped but never redeemed, dividend payouts that bounced because of an outdated bank account, or folios where the address changed — these lead to unclaimed MF amounts.
Log in to MF Central with your PAN and mobile OTP to download a Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) showing all your mutual fund holdings across all AMCs.
6. Post office — Matured deposits (₹4,820 Cr)
NSC certificates that matured but were never encashed, KVP bonds, PPF accounts past maturity, and SCSS deposits — all sitting in post offices across India. There is no online PAN-based search for these; you need to visit your local post office or use the DOP mobile banking app.
How to check all 6 sources at once
Instead of visiting 6 different portals, you can use Kosh to scan all sources with a single PAN entry. For IEPF and EPFO, Kosh queries the portals directly (you solve a CAPTCHA in the app). For UDGAM and MF Central, Kosh provides one-click links that take you directly to the search page. LIC is checked automatically.
The entire scan is free and takes about 2 minutes.
What to do if you find unclaimed money
Each source has its own claim process:
- IEPF: File Form IEPF-5 on the MCA portal with supporting documents. Takes 4-6 months.
- EPFO: Log in with your UAN, file a claim for withdrawal or transfer online. Takes 10-20 days.
- UDGAM/Banks: Contact the branch where the account was opened with your ID proof. Reactivation takes 1-2 weeks.
- LIC: Submit maturity claim form at your LIC branch with policy document and ID. Takes 2-4 weeks.
- Mutual funds: Contact the AMC or submit a claim through MF Central. Takes 1-2 weeks.
- Post office: Visit the post office with your passbook and ID proof.