Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged regulators to speed up refunds of unclaimed bank deposits, shares, insurance payouts, and pension funds through special camps. In fact, according to news reports, unclaimed bank deposits in India amount to Rs 78,000 crore. If you have any unclaimed deposits, how should you claim them?
How To Check The Status Of Unclaimed Deposits?
Individuals can check the status of their unclaimed bank deposits by enquiring with their respective banks or on the RBI’s UDGAM portal by entering the bank account details on the portal. For unclaimed shares, individuals can enquire with their depository participant where they hold their demat accounts or on the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Authority portal under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
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“Similarly, for unclaimed insurance, individuals can check with their respective insurer, with which they hold the insurance policy, or on the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (Irdai) website. For pension funds, individuals can check the status of unclaimed funds under the national pension scheme on the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) portal under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) or they can also enquire with the respective pension agencies,” says SR Patnaik, partner (head - taxation), Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.
How To Raise A Grievance If A Refund Is Delayed?
If the refund is delayed or not processed, individuals can raise grievances with the relevant specific regulator for the same, along with details of their claims. If such grievances are not being resolved expeditiously, then the individuals can approach the special district-level camps that shall be organised by all the regulators, such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Sebi, Irdai, and PFRDA, as recently directed by the Finance Minister in the 29th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (“FSDC”) chaired by her.
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“As directed by the Finance Minister in the recent meeting of the FSDC, the special district-level camps shall be an initiative of regulators such as RBI, Sebi, Irdai and PFRDA who shall be working with banks, depository participants, insurance companies and pension agencies to help the citizens in expediting the refund of their unclaimed deposits and funds,” says Patnaik.
This shall be very beneficial for the citizens who have their unclaimed funds in different bank accounts, insurance policies, shares, etc, as such camps can help in faster redressal of their grievances for all their claims and pending refunds under different forums at one place.
