Manulife Financial Corp

Unclaimed Property: Is Missing Money Looking for You?

There's a lot of "lost" money out there in America waiting for people to find it: Some $33 billion in unclaimed property and cash, in fact. And whether it comes a from relative who left an unclear will, a long-forgotten 401(k), or a disused bank account, some of it could be yours.

Found Money: Life Insurers Start to Seek Out Missing Beneficiaries

Odd thing: Just being the beneficiary of a life insurance policy doesn't mean you'll get the money when the policyholder dies. Turns out, you have to ask for it. And people failing to ask has led to as much as $1 billion going, not to people's heirs, but to the states. Thankfully, that's changing.

Social Security Going Bust? That's the Small Problem

The woes Social Security faces have generated plenty of worried talk lately, but even if nothing changes, it'll be solvent until 2036. But Medicare, the other major government program that retirees rely on, is on course for financial disaster years sooner. That program, of course, is Medicare, and the funding situation for the portion of its benefits that retirees receive looks even scarier than Social Security's prospects right now.