Dormant Assets Bill receives Royal Assent

Marking a significant milestone, the Dormant Assets Bill has today received Royal Assent, bringing forward new legislation to expand the existing Dormant Assets Scheme operated by Reclaim Fund Ltd (RFL) since 2011. The expansion will enable eligible dormant insurance, pensions, investment, wealth management and securities products to be transferred into the Scheme in addition to bank and building society accounts provisioned by the original 2008 Act.

RFL has been working collaboratively with industry, government departments and its regulator over the last four years to develop and progress the legislation which will now be known as the Dormant Assets Act 2022.

“On behalf of RFL, I would like to thank the Government and Industry representatives for their drive and enthusiasm to develop and deliver this legislation which will make the expansion of the Dormant Assets Scheme a reality. We are proud to be the operator of choice to provide a mechanism which will see monies, that would have otherwise sat idle, put to a social and environmental purpose."

This is truly an exciting time for our organisation as we continue to work on operational readiness to bring new assets onboard later this year. The success of the Scheme to date in releasing £800m to over 2500 charitable and social enterprises is owed to the organisations who voluntarily participate, and we look forward to working with the many organisations in these new sectors as they come forward to participate aiding us to fulfil our purpose – to enhance communities and enrich lives across the UK.”  Adrian Smith OBE – Chief Executive

Consumer protection is at the heart of the Scheme with a focus on organisations’ taking steps to reunify the asset with its original owner and, where this cannot be done, providing a route to reclaim the asset value, protected by RFL, at any time in the future.

RFL, in its role as a not-for-profit reclaim fund, uses its 10 years of knowledge and experience to determine, from the monies received, the amount required to meet future reclaims and that which can be released as surplus for distribution. Currently, funding from the Scheme is utilised to tackle issues such as youth unemployment, financial inclusion, social investment, and environmental initiatives. The Act also makes provision for a public consultation to be held on the future spend direction of the English proportion of distributed funds which is expected in the summer of 2022.

Are you an organisation operating in one of the new asset sectors? Would you like to learn more about participation in the expanded Scheme? We would be happy to discuss this with you in more detail. Please contact us at reclaimfund@reclaimfund.co.uk