PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Each year on September 30, the Secretary of the Treasury must move any money that has sat in certain trust funds for more than one year and belongs to people whose location is unknown into a special account called "Unclaimed Moneys of Individuals Whose Whereabouts are Unknown." If someone later claims that money, it will be paid out from that special account. The law also lets the Treasury use whatever funds are needed to pay claims from that account and from the United States Government account "Refund of Moneys Erroneously Received and Covered" and other wrongly deposited collections that do not belong to another fund. Money left over from final Postal Savings System distributions must stay in the same special account. The Treasury will use it to pay Postal Savings System claims without following state or local rules about abandoned property. If the account runs out, more money may be provided without a fiscal year limit to pay claims. Claims for Postal Savings System deposits had to be filed within one year after the Postal Savings System Statute of Limitations Act was passed. The United States Postal Service must post notices about that one-year limit in all post offices as soon as possible after the Act was passed.

Title 31, §1322

Money and Finance, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)On September 30 of each year, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Treasury trust fund receipt account “Unclaimed Moneys of Individuals Whose Whereabouts are Unknown” that part of the balance of a trust fund account named in section 1321(a)(1)–(82) of this title or an analogous trust fund established under section 1321(b) of this title that has been in the fund for more than one year and represents money belonging to individuals whose whereabouts are unknown. Subsequent claims to the transferred funds shall be paid from the account “Unclaimed Moneys of Individuals Whose Whereabouts are Unknown”.

(b)Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, necessary amounts are appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments from—

(1)the Treasury trust fund receipt account “Unclaimed Moneys of Individuals Whose Whereabouts are Unknown”; and

(2)the United States Government account “Refund of Moneys Erroneously Received and Covered” and other collections erroneously deposited that are not properly chargeable to another appropriation.

(c)(1)The Secretary of the Treasury shall hold in the Treasury trust fund receipt account “Unclaimed Moneys of Individuals Whose Whereabouts Are Unknown” the balance remaining after the final distribution of unclaimed Postal Savings System deposits under subsection (a) of the first section of the Act of August 13, 1971 (Public Law 92–117; 85 Stat. 337). The Secretary shall use the balance to pay claims for Postal Savings System deposits without regard to the State law or the law of other jurisdictions of deposit concerning the disposition of unclaimed or abandoned property.

(2)Necessary amounts may be appropriated without fiscal year limitation to the trust fund receipt account to pay claims for deposits when the balance in the account is not sufficient to pay the claims made within the time limitation set forth in paragraph (3) of this subsection.

(3)No claim for any Postal Savings System deposit may be brought more than one year from the date of the enactment of the Postal Savings System Statute of Limitations Act.

(4)The United States Postal Service shall assist the Secretary of the Treasury in providing public notice of the time limitation set forth in paragraph (3) of this subsection by posting notices thereof in all post offices as soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of the Postal Savings System Statute of Limitations Act.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 1322(a)31:725s(a)(last sentence last proviso).June 26, 1934, ch. 756, § 20(a)(last sentence last proviso), 48 Stat. 1233; Apr. 21, 1976, Pub. L. 94–273, § 2(16), 90 Stat. 375. 1322(b)31:725p–1.June 30, 1949, ch. 286, § 101(par. under heading “Payments of Unclaimed Moneys”), 63 Stat. 359. 31:725q–1.June 30, 1949, ch. 286, § 101(par. under heading “Refund of Moneys Erroneously Received and Covered”), 63 Stat. 358. 1322(c)31:725p(note).Aug. 13, 1971, Pub. L. 92–117, 85 Stat. 337. In subsection (a), the words “directed to be established in section 725p of this title” are omitted as surplus. In subsection (b), before clause (1), the words “Secretary of the Treasury” are substituted for “Treasury Department” for consistency. The words “out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated” in 31:725q–1 are omitted as surplus. In clause (1), the words “of the character formerly chargeable to the appropriation accounts abolished under section 725p of this title” in 31:725p–1 are omitted as unnecessary because of the restatement. In clause (2), the words “United States Government account ‘Refund of Moneys Erroneously Received and Covered’ ” are substituted for “of the character formerly chargeable to the appropriation accounts abolished under section 725q of this title” in 31:725q–1 for clarity and to eliminate unnecessary words. In subsection (c)(1), the words “claims for . . . deposits” are substituted for “claims by or on behalf of depositors” to eliminate unnecessary words. The text of section 1(a) of the Act of August 13, 1971 (Pub. L. 92–117, 85 Stat. 337), is omitted as executed.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Subsection (a) of the first section of the Act of

August 13, 1971 (Public Law 92–117; 85 Stat. 337), referred to in subsec. (c)(1), was repealed by Pub. L. 97–258, § 5(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1081. The date of the enactment of the Postal Savings System Statute of Limitations Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(3) and (4), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 98–359, which was approved

July 13, 1984.

Amendments

1984—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 98–359 substituted provision authorizing the balance to be held by the Secretary for provision authorizing the balance to be held by the Secretary in perpetuity. Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 98–359 substituted reference to par. (3) of this subsection for reference to par. (1) of this subsection. Subsec. (c)(3), (4). Pub. L. 98–359 added pars. (3) and (4).

§1322 Payments of Unclaimed Trust Fund Amounts and Refund of Amounts Erroneously Deposited