Winter Arc. Have you heard of it? It’s a TikTok trend that has led many to ditch the idea of a New Year’s resolution in exchange for a slower build up through the winter months. In other words, rather than the abrupt shift many attempt on January 1, those embracing the Winter Arc started making incremental progress on their goals back in October. While I’m not one to latch on to TikTok trends, I have to say this one might not be the worst idea.
I guess in some ways, your State Treasury’s Unclaimed Money team has championed the idea of the Winter Arc over the last four years. From the beginning, our team knew we wanted to prioritize returning unclaimed money to families across the state, and we’ve been building toward that goal ever since.
By the end of my first year in office, our team had returned $20 million to Mississippians. While that was more than had ever been returned in any recent calendar year, our team had bigger goals. Our arc of progress was just beginning.
In each subsequent year, our team has continued to break state records on the amount of money returned, and I’m pleased to report that 2024 was our biggest year yet. In fact, our team returned more than $40 million to Mississippians in the last twelve months. That’s a $40 million economic stimulus that taxpayers didn’t have to pay for!
How did our team achieve this? A few things have contributed. First, we installed a new eClaims system that allows many people to get their money with just a few clicks of a mouse (and no notary needed)!
Second, we undertook a proactive data match for the first time in Mississippi’s history. As a result, we sent around 10,000 checks right before the holidays, returning about $4 million to Mississippians without the recipients having to do anything to claim it. It was a nice chunk of Christmas change and a boost to the economy to say the least!
Finally, while it sounds simple, our team has made this a priority and that has without a doubt led to greater success. The truth is unclaimed money is not the government’s money; it is an asset that was lost, forgotten, or abandoned by you that was then turned over to the state to reunite with its rightful owner – and that’s exactly what my team is dedicated to doing.
There are still millions of dollars to be claimed at the Mississippi Treasury. If you have not searched recently, please do so at treasury.ms.gov/search. If you need help or have questions about unclaimed money, please contact my office at 601-359-3600.
Happy New Year, Mississippi!
Mississippi Treasurer David McRae is the 55th Treasurer for the State of Mississippi. In this role, he helps manage the state’s cash flow, oversees College Savings Mississippi, and has returned more than $100 million in unclaimed money to Mississippians. For more information, visit Treasury.MS.gov.This article is provided by state Treasurer McRae and any opinions expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of this publication.
