Do you have a dormant account? This is how you can check!

1. What are dormant assets?

If you have not been in touch with your bank for five years and have not made any transactions during that time, your assets at that bank will be considered dormant. It is not only money in current accounts and savings accounts that can become dormant. It can also happen to investments, safe deposit boxes and life insurance policies that would otherwise entitle you to benefit payments. As a rule, investments are also subject to a five-year waiting period. A safe deposit box will go dormant if the rental fee has not been paid for at least five years. A life insurance policy becomes dormant if the beneficiary does not take any action within four months of the policy holder's death.

2. What happens to these dormant assets?

If your assets become dormant, banks and insurers are legally obliged to track you down:

• Step 1: The bank or insurer will send a letter to your last known address.
• Step 2: If there is no response, the bank or insurer will consult the Belgian resident register or Crossroads Bank for Enterprises to find your current address. It will then send you a registered letter.
• Step 3: If there is still no response, the dormant balance will be transferred to the Deposit and Consignment Office (DCK/CDC) of the Federal Public Service for Finance.

The DCK/CDC holds these assets for thirty years, after which the Belgian State irrevocably becomes their owner. Keytrade Bank will send you an email if your assets are less than 60 euros. You will receive an email and a letter for amounts below 500 euros. If the amount exceeds 500 euros, Keytrade Bank will send you an email, letter and registered letter and we will consult the resident register. From 10,000 euros, we will also try to contact you by phone.

From amounts above 500 euros, we charge a fixed fee of 50 euros regardless of the amount. These costs are for the registered letter and resident register search.

3. What about small amounts?

In principle, a bank or insurer does not need to track you down if the amount is less than 60 euros. The money then goes to the Treasury anonymously. You can never recover this money afterwards. The following points are worth bearing in mind: Keytrade Bank will send you an email if the amount is between 0 and 60 euros.

It will also do this if the costs of tracking you down are too high. This is the case when those costs are more than 10% of the assets in the dormant account(s) up to a maximum of 200 euros. And for an insurance policy, this is the case if the costs of tracking you down are more than 5% of the insured benefits.

4. Why do assets go dormant?

There are several reasons why assets may become dormant. Letters from the bank may remain unopened. People may move abroad without informing the bank. Heirs may not be aware of all of a deceased person's accounts. The list goes on.

5. How can you check whether you have any dormant assets?

You can use MyMinfin to check whether you have any dormant assets. You log in with your electronic identity card or the Itsme app. On the “Mijn betalingen/Mes paiements” tab, click on the "Mijn slapende tegoeden raadplegen/Consulter mes avoirs dormants" button.

If you see nothing but 0s (zeros), it means no dormant assets were found in your name. A 1 indicates that you have dormant assets somewhere. In that case, you use another online application, e-Depo, to immediately request the recovery of those assets. You will then receive the money within 30 days.

6. Can you check whether a (deceased) family member has any dormant assets?

Yes, you can also do that in MyMinfin. Click on the “Mijn betalingen/Mes paiements” tab and on "Mijn slapende tegoeden raadplegen/Consulter mes avoirs dormants". Then click on “Slapende tegoeden op naam van een derde opzoeken/Rechercher des avoirs au nom d'un tiers”. You then need to submit a request. If more than one person is entitled to a certain sum, each person can claim their personal share. It is not necessary for all parties concerned to submit a request together.

7. Do dormant assets still yield interest?

Yes, they do. Dormant assets still accrue interest after they have been transferred to the Deposit and Consignment Office. The interest rate is 2.50% (situation as at October 2024).

8. Does recovering dormant assets come at a cost?

No, there are no administration fees or other costs to pay.

9. How can you prevent your assets from going dormant?

• Logging in to your online banking at least once every five years is enough to stop your account from going dormant.
• Update your contact details, for example after moving house.
• Create an overview of your accounts, for example in your will.
• Draw up a lasting power of attorney.

10. How many dormant assets are there in Belgium?

We asked the Federal Public Service for Finance how many dormant assets exist in Belgium and were told that the current figure stands at 716 million euros (November 2024). These assets are held in 636,157 dormant accounts or insurance policies (on average 1,125.50 euros per case). In 2023, 2,528 recovery payments were made totalling 13.8 million euros (on average 5,459 euros per case).