State Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-Oil City, speaks to a group of students in March. Hutchinson’s committee recently passed legislation that would increase the amount for unclaimed property checks from $500 to up to $10,000.

The Pennsylvania Treasury is advising residents to keep an eye on their mailboxes as they seek to return five billion dollars in unclaimed property.

The most recent round saw the dispersal of $9.2 million to about 40,000 people with lost paychecks, forgotten bank accounts, and other unclaimed assets.

The automatic process, however, may sound too good to be true. For this reason, Garrity and legislators are doing what they can to get the word out so Pennsylvanians know they are receiving real money from a real government program.

“Pennsylvania Money Match, which passed unanimously last session, is a program that actually removes red tape in government, something almost unheard of,” said Treasurer Stacy Garrity.

The program returns unclaimed property valued up to $500 owned by a single individual. The legislature is hoping to increase that threshold to $10,000 via bills in both the House and Senate.

“I think it’s been a successful program and will be even more successful as we raise these dollar limits,” said Sen. Scott Hutchinson, whose committee passed both bills Tuesday.

Rep. Ryan Bizarro, D-Erie, who ran in the Democratic primary for the chance to face off against Garrity, also celebrated the program as his bill expanding it moves forward.

“Any time we can cut red tape and return money directly to the taxpayers is a day to celebrate,” said Bizarro, who commended Garrity for doing a “tremendous job” in the role.

Nina Hard, a resident of Dauphin County, is now expecting her second check from unclaimed property through the program.

“This is money that has always belonged to me but got a little lost somehow,” said Hard. “I also want to encourage my fellow Pennsylvanians to search for unclaimed property on the Treasury’s website.”