Just back from a successful outreach effort at the Nebraska State Fair, the Unclaimed Property specialists in the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office are inviting Nebraskans to visit them, Sept. 9-11, at Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island.
State Treasurer Don Stenberg said visitors to the Treasurer’s booth will be able to search for unclaimed property and ask for help in filing claims. They also will be able to pick up information about the Nebraska Educational Savings Trust (NEST), Nebraska’s state-sponsored 529 college savings program.
The Treasurer’s booth is No. 1577 in the Diversified Industries North Building. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 9 and 10 and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 11.
“Husker Harvest Days and the Nebraska State Fair are two of our most productive outreach activities of the year,” Stenberg said. He said, so far, about $15,000 was returned to 103 owners during the 10 days of the State Fair, which ended Sept. 1. That amount is expected to increase as claims filed during the fair continue to be processed and as shares of stock, included in some claims, are sold and the proceeds added to the total.
So far this year, the Unclaimed Property Division has returned more than $7.7 million to Nebraskans, former Nebraskans, or heirs. That represents 13,992 claims paid.
“My staff enjoys meeting fellow Nebraskans at these important outreach events and looks forward to sharing information about the programs and services offered through the Treasurer’s Office. Outreach events give us an opportunity to get to know many of the people who take advantage of our programs and to hear first-hand about how we can best serve Nebraskans,” Stenberg said.
“In addition to our unclaimed property program, which is holding $135 million for 350,000 Nebraskans, we have an excellent college savings program, and we want all Nebraskans to be aware of how they can save responsibly and effectively for their children’s higher education through the Nebraska Educational Savings Trust,” Stenberg said.
Husker Harvest Day visitors also may want to ask about Nebraska NEST Financial Scholars for Families, a free online tutorial for parents and grandparents about state-sponsored 529 college savings programs like NEST. These programs take their name from Section 529 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and provide tax incentives for savers.
The online tutorial is offered at no charge to families through the Treasurer’s website at www.treasurer.org. The tutorial takes about 15 minutes to complete, and visitors can return to review material as often as they like.
To learn more about NEST, go to www.treasurer.org/cs/ or call 402-471-1088.
To access Nebraska NEST Financial Scholars for Families, go to www.treasurer.org.
To search for unclaimed property, go to www.treasurer.org/up/ or call 402-471-8497 or 877-572-9688 (toll free).
