Government raises half a billion euros from dormant accounts
The federal government plans to boost its 2026 budget by taking nearly 500 million euros from dormant accounts. To do so, it will significantly reduce the period in which people can reclaim this money by reducing it from 30 years to five or 10 years, De Tijd reports.
Under the multi-year budget, the timeframe for transferring money from dormant accounts to the state budget will be shortened. The government aims to generate 474 million euros next year through what is described as a vaguely defined measure relating to the Deposit and Consignment Fund (DCK).
After inquiries with several government sources, De Tijd concludes that this anticipated revenue will partly come from accelerating the confiscation process. Finance minister Jan Jambon intends to reduce the statute of limitations to 10 years for missing beneficiaries and to five years for dormant accounts. Since 2008, banks have been legally required to transfer such dormant funds to the DCK.
Currently, 815 million euros in dormant funds are held at the DCK, in 674,961 accounts and contracts. Dormant funds are defined as money that has remained untouched in a bank account or insurance policy for five years, and whose rightful owner the institution cannot contact. They may also belong to a missing or deceased beneficiary whose right to reimbursement is unknown or impossible to establish.
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