It is one of the quieter failings of the financial system, and one of the most costly. German accounts hold billions of euros that no one has accessed for years. These include bank accounts, securities accounts and safe-deposit boxes whose owners have died or whose existence has simply been forgotten. The phenomenon is known as unclaimed assets, and it is far from marginal.
A study commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research estimates the total at up to €4.2bn ($4.6bn). The German Association of Heir Investigators puts the figure even higher, at as much as €9bn ($9.8bn). Under current law, assets that can no longer be assigned to an owner remain with banks after around 30 years.
Germany is internationally isolated in this approach. Among the G7 countries, it is the only one without a legal framework for such assets. While clear models exist elsewhere, Germany remains in regulatory limbo. The result is a quiet shift of wealth away from potential heirs or the wider public and into the balance sheets of banks.
The Majority Opposes the Status Quo
Public opinion on the issue is clear. A representative survey commissioned by the charity SOS Children's Villages Worldwide shows that 86% of Germans want a fundamental change. They support transferring unclaimed assets after a set period into an independent social fund that would finance charitable projects.
The current system has almost no public support. Only 2% of respondents favor allowing the funds to remain permanently with banks. A further 8% support transferring them to the state. The rest clearly favor using the money for charitable purposes. What stands out is the breadth of the consensus. Support extends across almost all groups in society, regardless of age, gender or place of residence. Even in typically diverse segments, support remains consistently between 80% and 92%. It is especially strong among women over 50.
Other countries have long-established such models. In the UK, for example, dormant accounts have been transferred into a social fund since 2008. The key difference from the German status quo is that the claims of owners or their heirs remain protected indefinitely. A refund can be claimed at any time. It is a mechanism that combines legal certainty with social benefit.
Germany has at least considered a similar arrangement politically. The coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD envisages corresponding steps. But no concrete law exists so far. A gap remains between political intent and actual implementation.
The Real Problem is Closer to Home
Despite the clarity of public opinion, many citizens behave inconsistently in their daily lives. The same study reveals a structural carelessness in the handling of personal wealth.
Only 30% of respondents have fully documented their financial assets and discussed them with relatives or potential heirs. A quarter have made no arrangements at all, while another quarter have made only incomplete ones. 14% say they have documented everything but have never discussed it with anyone.
Taken together, this means that 62% of Germans leave behind a documentation gap. That is precisely the situation in which assets become unclaimed. What is particularly striking is that this is not just a problem for younger generations. Even among those over 65, only just under half have fully put their affairs in order.
Petra Sorge-Booms, a board member of SOS Children's Villages Worldwide, sums up the structural problem: "Billions of euros are in accounts that nobody remembers anymore, and new ones are added every year. Anyone who does not document their assets and discuss them with relatives risks having their savings become untraceable."
The organization is therefore calling not only for a new legal framework but also for a central registry that would make it easier for heirs to access asset claims. At the same time, it says more public awareness is needed to prevent assets from disappearing into the system in the first place.
The political dimension of the issue is therefore clearly defined. It is not only about billions of euros, but also about a fundamental question of property and how it is passed on. Who benefits when wealth disappears, and who should benefit instead? Germany has yet to find a final answer. The public, by contrast, already has.
