Financial institutions
for 10 years*
Caisse des Dépots
for 20 years*
State
after 30 years
* see the different timeframes depending on the product and special cases. This information concerns the sums relating to the Eckert law excluding recovery of prior rights.
1 An account is considered dormant or a policy unclaimed
A Bank Account is considered dormant or a Life insurance policy unclaimed after ten years without any transactions or Contact initiated by the account Holder or Policyholder.
A company savings scheme (PEE) account is considered dormant after a period of 5 years during which these two cumulative conditions are met:
There has been no Transaction involving the PEE account,
The account holder, his/her Legal representative or the person authorised by him/her has not in any manner initiated contact with the institution for this account or for another account opened in his or her name.
A life insurance policy is considered unclaimed when it comes to term (this only concerns fixed-term policies at the conclusion of which the sums paid into the policy cease generating interest) without any contact initiated by the policyholder.
2 Information letters are sent out to the last known address
The Financial institution where the account or policy was opened invites the Beneficiary to come forward to prevent his/her account or life insurance policy from being closed.
3 The account or life insurance policy is closed
If there is no response from the beneficiary six months after the letter was sent out, the financial institution closes the account or life insurance policy and transfers the balance to Caisse des Dépôts.
4 The money is transferred to Caisse des Dépôts
Caisse des Dépôts keeps the money for 20 years* and manages Restitution claims submitted by account holders, life insurance policyholders, beneficiaries/heirs or rights holders on Ciclade.fr.
5 The money is returned to the beneficiaries identified on Ciclade.fr
Caisse des Dépôts does not Search for Dormant account holders, unclaimed life insurance policyholders or the beneficiaries of these sums. It is up to the latter to search for any unclaimed sums on Ciclade.fr.
6 Unclaimed sums are transferred to the State
After 30 years of dormancy and no contact on the part of the holder of the dormant account(s) or Unclaimed life insurance policy(ies), the beneficiaries/heirs or rights holders, the money is irreversibly transferred to the State or to the Overseas Collectivities. In this case it is no longer possible to claim this money back.