Unclaimed assets across banks, mutual funds, and insurance have topped ₹1.1 lakh crore, excluding the value of IEPF-held shares. Despite new digital portals and legislative changes, dormant accounts are accumulating faster than they are being settled. This trend highlights the need for investors to proactively update KYC and nomination details to prevent wealth from becoming locked.
The total value of unclaimed financial assets in India has climbed past ₹1.1 lakh crore, signaling a persistent challenge for both regulators and families attempting to reconnect with forgotten savings. This figure spans across banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, and various government-managed funds. Crucially, this total does not account for the market value of shares transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF), which were valued at approximately ₹65,600 crore at the end of 2023.
Mounting Dormant Deposits
A significant portion of these unclaimed funds resides in bank accounts that have remained inactive for over a decade. Official data reveals that unclaimed bank deposits under the Reserve Bank of India’s framework grew from about ₹74,600 crore in March 2025 to roughly ₹83,000 crore by February 2026. The consistent rise in these numbers suggests that the creation of new dormant accounts is currently outpacing the rate at which existing claims are being successfully settled, despite various recovery efforts.
The Challenge of Recovery
Recovering these assets remains a complex task for many families. Financial systems are highly fragmented, meaning a single investor’s assets may be scattered across different products—each governed by its own regulatory framework, claim procedure, and timeline. The difficulties are often compounded by outdated contact information, missing nominations, and old paper-based investments where Know Your Customer (KYC) records are incomplete or incompatible with modern digital standards. When account holders pass away without leaving clear instructions, legal heirs often face a tedious process of approaching multiple institutions to prove their claims.
Regulatory and Digital Intervention
To bridge this gap, authorities have rolled out several initiatives. The Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025, has introduced provisions for multiple nominees in bank accounts, which is a major shift designed to ease the inheritance process. On the digital front, regulators have introduced centralized tools to help individuals track their lost money. These include the UDGAM portal for bank deposits, the IRDAI’s Bima Bharosa for insurance, and the SEBI-backed MITRA platform. A common search portal launched in 2026 has further expanded the scope for searching across various asset classes.
While these portals provide a starting point for discovery, they do not automate the settlement process itself. Investors are still required to follow institution-specific procedures to finalize the transfer of funds. Going forward, the effectiveness of these digital initiatives will likely depend on whether banks and financial institutions can streamline their internal death claim settlement processes and improve outreach to inactive account holders.