Over £557 million unclaimed in forgotten bank accounts, as savers urged to check

• Between 2022 and 2025, over £557M was received by the Dormant Assets Scheme, which holds money from bank accounts untouched for 15 years, with only 11% (£62.7 million) reclaimed by account owners over the same period.
• On average, those who tracked down a lost account got back £1,011, while almost half (46%) of bank account holders who lost track say they simply forgot it existed.
• In addition, as of March 2025, almost 2.5 million Premium Bond prizes worth £97 million were sitting unclaimed.
• Nearly a third (29%) of Premium Bond holders have never once checked whether they have won an unclaimed prize.
• Tara Evans, Personal Finance Editor at Confused.com, shares her top tips on how to track down money you may have forgotten about.

More than £557 million of Brits' money has been signed over to the Treasury from accounts their owners have forgotten about, new data reveals.

Between 2022 and 2025, over £557 million was transferred into the HM Treasury’s Dormant Assets Scheme from over 4.4 million dormant accounts. That’s according to new figures obtained by Confused.com through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Reclaim Fund Ltd and NS&I¹.

With household budgets stretched, missing out on money that is rightfully yours has rarely been more costly. However, many account holders aren’t aware they’re owed anything, and so the money goes unclaimed. Between 2022 and 2025, account holders reclaimed £ 62.7 million, equivalent to only 11% of the £557 million the Scheme received over the same period.

The Dormant Assets Scheme is run by Reclaim Fund Ltd and covers participating UK banks, building societies and NS&I, as well as some pension and investment products more recently added to the scheme². But an account is only classed as dormant once it has been left untouched for 15 years, with no deposits or withdrawals, and the provider has been unable to trace the owner³. That often happens after someone moves house, switches banks, or simply forgets about a balance left behind.

At that point, the balance can be moved into the scheme. The money is pooled together, and Reclaim Fund Ltd is legally obliged to pay back the owners who come forward, in full, no matter how many years have passed. It holds back enough to cover this, and it transfers the rest, currently around 60%, to social and environmental causes⁴.

Forgotten bank accounts are only part of the picture. There is also a growing pile of unclaimed Premium Bond prizes that builds up year after year. As of March 2025, over 2.5 million prizes worth £97 million were unclaimed by users - up 21% from £80 million in 2022. Part of the reason may be that people simply aren't looking. According to a new survey of 2,000 UK adults who hold a bank account, nearly a third (29%) of Premium Bond holders have never checked whether they have won an unclaimed prize.

Premium Bonds are a government savings product where, instead of earning interest, holders are entered into a monthly prize draw. NS&I tries to notify every winner, but if someone has moved or changed their contact details, the good news can fail to reach them, and a prize is classed as unclaimed once it has gone uncashed for 18 months⁵. That doesn’t mean the prize money is lost. There is no deadline to claim a Premium Bond prize, so rather than being written off, unclaimed prizes carry over and build up year after year.

Where that money is waiting varies across the country. London holds the most of any UK region, with £14.5 million in unclaimed prizes, while Northern Ireland has the least, with £1.1 million.

Unclaimed Premium Bond prizes by region in 2024/25:

So how does so much money end up forgotten? For many people it comes down to how scattered their finances have become. The survey of 2,000 UK adults who hold a bank account also found that almost 2 in 5 (39%) respondents now use 3 or more separate banking or financial apps. With money spread across so many places, accounts can easily slip off the radar. And 5% admit they do not keep track of their savings, accounts and financial products at all.

When people lose track of an account, the most common reason is that nearly half (46%) of Brits simply forgot it existed. Others blame having money spread across too many apps or providers (18%). The good news is that lost money is usually recoverable, and those who managed to track down a forgotten account got back £1,011 on average. At a time when many households are watching every penny, a sum like that could cover a big chunk of personal finances, an energy bill or an unexpected cost.

Premium Bonds also appear to be a particular blind spot. While more than 1 in 4 (28%) hold them, 1 in 10 (10%) admit they often forget they even own them. This helps to explain how millions of prizes go unclaimed year after year.

There is also a clear demand for more help. More than 1 in 3 (35%) think banks should do more to remind customers about inactive accounts. While almost 1 in 6 (15%) assume their bank would get in touch if they had money lying forgotten. Bank providers would usually write to your last known address and then stop once they hear nothing back, so if you have moved, those reminders may never reach you. That makes it worth checking yourself, and many would welcome the reward. A third (33%) say they would put any rediscovered money straight into savings.

With so many people managing their money across multiple banks and apps, and so much of it going unclaimed, it seems keeping track of what you have is more important than ever. Regular checks, free tracing tools and a little organisation could help reunite people with money that is rightfully theirs.

Tara Evans, Personal Finance Expert at Confused.com, comments:

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Notes to editors