The government, through the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA), has invited Kenyans to discover and recover their unclaimed financial assets.
Kenyans with uncollected financial assets have been encouraged to visit the Kinoru Stadium in Meru between Monday, November 18, and Friday, November 22, to learn how to recover and claim them.
"Claim your lost and found items. Did you know you can easily discover lost and found financial assets for you, your organization, or your loved ones? Visit the Kinoru Stadium in Meru between November 18-22 to find out more," the notice read.
Interested Kenyans have been advised to bring along a national identification card (ID) or death certificate, or grant or organization registration certificate to facilitate the process.
The call comes months after UFAA revealed that it is staggering with Ksh60 billion in unclaimed financial assets from Kenyans. According to Board Chairman Francis Njenga since January 2024, only Ksh2 billion has been claimed out of the reported Ksh62 billion held by the authority.
The body also revealed that it was in possession of Ksh241 billion in unclaimed assets from public agencies and private firms remains outstanding, complicating efforts to reunite beneficiaries with their rightful funds.
Popular financial assets that people lose include unclaimed bail and bonds, unclaimed deposits, dividends, and interests. Others are utility deposits death benefits, annuities, and assets from dissolved business entities.
People lose financial assets either through neglect or lack of awareness. One can lose financial assets through an inactive bank account, investment accounts, or insurance policies can become unclaimed if they remain inactive for a long period.
One can also lose financial assets through dividends, interest, or benefits from retirement plans and insurance policies when they become unclaimed if the owner doesn’t update their contact information or forgets to collect them.
Losing or forgetting where you placed important documents like stock certificates or bonds, can also lead to assets becoming unclaimed.
Checks from employers, dividends, or refunds that are not cashed can eventually be reported as unclaimed.
Another way to lose your financial assets is if you move and forget to update contact and residential details with financial institutions. You are at risk of not receiving notifications about your assets.
According to the Unclaimed Financial Assets Act (No. 40 of 2011), one has to file a claim, which will be considered within 90 days of the date filed.The unclaimed financial assets must be abandoned for more than two years before one claims them.
