Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg’s office says $2.5 million in cash and securities is waiting to be reunited with current and former members of the military, and the state now checks every wartime Veterans Bonus recipient against its unclaimed property list. The Treasury announced the arrangement Oct. 28, saying it began in August between the Unclaimed Property Division and the Veterans Bonus Division. Goldberg leads both.
The process is automatic on the state’s side. After the Veterans Bonus Division awards a wartime bonus to a veteran, it coordinates with the Unclaimed Property Division to see whether that same person has unclaimed property in Massachusetts. Since the partnership started, the Treasury says, it has produced 93 claims with an estimated value of more than $45,000.
For a veteran who ever lived in Massachusetts, the useful question is whether a forgotten check, account or share of stock is in the state’s hands under their name. Many service members moved out of state long ago, and the Treasury says its office contacts veterans directly, often at last known addresses that are military post offices or base mailing addresses. Anyone who left the state after service should check for themselves, because the mail that would reach them may no longer exist.
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How much has actually been paid out?
So far the new check has returned $12,000 to Veterans Bonus recipients in unclaimed funds, the Treasury says. The larger number is the longer record: over the past two years, more than $298,000 has been returned to current or former military members. The $2.5 million still waiting is the total in cash and securities that has not yet found its owners.
“Veterans have given so much in service to our state and our country,” Goldberg said in the release, adding, “we want to make sure they receive every dollar they are owed.”
Who gets a wartime bonus from Massachusetts?
The bonus comes from the state, separate from any federal benefit. Massachusetts pays bonuses for the Vietnam Conflict, the Korean War and World War II, with amounts of $100 to $300 depending on the conflict and the kind of service: $300 for overseas service in Korea or World War II or in-country Vietnam service, $200 for six months or more of active service elsewhere, and $100 for one day to six months of stateside service in Korea or World War II. The same payments exist for those who died on active service, at $300.
The Veterans’ Bonus Division also lists other bonuses: the Welcome Home Veterans’ Bonus for post-9/11 servicemembers, the Massachusetts COVID-19 Bonus for the Massachusetts National Guard, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Bonus for 1976 through 2001, the Persian Gulf War Veterans’ Bonus, and bonuses on behalf of a deceased veteran. The division serves veterans who were domiciled in Massachusetts for at least six months before entering the military, and it takes applications online and by mail. Only one bonus is paid per conflict, and veterans who received an Other Than Honorable discharge because of sexual orientation or HIV status may be eligible if they meet the other requirements, the division says.
Proof of service and residency forms, commanding officer forms and appeal information are posted on the division’s page. Veterans who served in more than one era can be paid for each qualifying conflict, since the limit applies to a single conflict rather than to a veteran’s whole career.
What does the unclaimed property side cover?
Unclaimed property is money or assets that a company or bank has lost track of and turned over to the state, such as an old paycheck, an inactive account or shares of stock. In Massachusetts it is run by the Treasury and searchable at FindMassMoney.gov, the state’s unclaimed property site. The $2.5 million figure in the release covers both cash and securities, so a veteran’s claim can be money or stock.
Questions about the partnership go to the Treasury at (617) 367-6900, according to the release. For the bonus itself, the Veterans’ Bonus Division answers at (617) 367-9333, extension 859. The Treasury also takes general questions through its Ask Treasury form.
Why does the military mail problem matter?
The Treasury’s own description of the difficulty is the address. Many of the veterans it tries to reach no longer live in Massachusetts, and their last known addresses are often military post offices or local base addresses. That is why the Treasury says it contacts veterans directly and why it added the bonus check as a second way to find them.
Veterans awarded a wartime bonus since the partnership began in August are checked automatically. Those who never applied for a bonus are not part of that automatic check, so a search in their own name is the only way to know. The bonus division serves veterans who lived in Massachusetts for at least six months before entering the military, and it says out-of-state students and out-of-state active-duty personnel not originally from Massachusetts do not qualify on that basis.
Could a Massachusetts veteran have unclaimed money waiting?
Unclaimed cash and securities do not announce themselves, and a notice sent to an old base address or military post office can end up nowhere. The Treasury says $2.5 million is still waiting, and a veteran who has moved out of Massachusetts may be the last to hear.
The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes a 5-tab Excel tracker pre-filled with all 51 state unclaimed-property offices, so a veteran who lived in several states can check each one. The 50-page guide also has the source vault of 12 official places money sits, plus a large-print quick-start.
Get the 51-office unclaimed-property tracker for veterans who lived in more than one state →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
