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View all recent press releases published by the Department of Treasury

Media Contact: Shelli King, Director of Communications

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RetireReadyTN recognized by three national organizations for providing retirement readiness education to Tennessee public employees and teachers

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NASHVILLE – RetireReadyTN has received three awards in the past year for its initiative to help public employees and teachers maximize their retirement readiness...

Tennessee educators honored with Financial Literacy Awards

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Nashville — The Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission is honoring educators from Tennessee's three grand divisions for their leadership in bringing financial education to their schools.

Alison Thompson, Sue Stringfield, Dr. Kristen Lynch, and Dr. Shemon Reaves were presented with the Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission Leadership Award by Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. at an event in Nashville.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Criminal Injuries Compensation Program wants victim assistance groups to know it’s a resource

Online training and other resources available to any organization assisting victims

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NASHVILLE – In recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Tennessee Department of Treasury is working to increase awareness of a resource to financially assist victims of crime. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Program provides funds of last resort to victims who have suffered personal injuries related to a crime, including injuries related to domestic violence.

Centertown becomes first Tennessee city to offer Length of Service Award Program to Volunteer Firefighters

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The City of Centertown is the first Tennessee municipality to adopt the new State of Tennessee Length of Service Award Program for Volunteers offered to local communities to recruit, retain, and reward volunteer firefighters for their commitment.

Your employer may have good news from Tennessee Treasury’s Unclaimed Property Program

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Nashville, TN - The Tennessee Department of Treasury is sending letters you will be happy to get from your boss. Employers across Tennessee are receiving letters addressed to many employees who have unclaimed property available to claim.

The Unclaimed Property program is a consumer protection service of the Tennessee Department of Treasury that works to return missing money to the rightful owner. The program works to proactively locate owners through various means, including working with the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development to match information with employment records to help locate people with unclaimed property. Each year, thousands of letters are mailed in large batches to those owners via their current employers, who are asked to deliver the letters to those with missing money.

Unclaimed property is money that has been turned over to the State by businesses and organizations unable to locate the rightful owners, such as utility refunds, uncashed paychecks, credit balances for overpayments, rental deposit refunds, gift certificates, securities, and abandoned bank accounts.  

The letter sent via employers directs the recipients to submit a claim through ClaimItTN.gov. A significant portion of claims each year are returned through the assistance of employers. About 70% of claims are paid in as little as two weeks, on average.

"For most of us, it's probably hard to believe that we might have money missing, but the 7 million names in our database show it happens to many of us," said State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. "We hope you’ll find this letter a welcome one, as we’re contacting you to let you know you have money that belongs in your bank account.”

Letters are also mailed by the division to the address provided when the property was turned over from the business (holder). If you have received a letter, you can verify the information by visiting ClaimItTN.gov.

The quickest way to find out if you have missing money is to visit, ClaimItTN.gov, where you can search your name in a secure online database, locate missing money, and submit a claim in a matter of minutes. Treasury recommends searching for common misspellings of your name and addresses as well, as that may be why the business was unable to return the money to you initially.

There was over $1.2 billion waiting to be claimed, as of June 30, 2022, and more missing money has been turned over by businesses throughout the past fiscal year. Last year, the Division returned 50,337 claims totaling $57.6 million in cash property to the owners or their heirs, businesses, and local governments.

There is no time limit on claiming the property, and there is never a fee to claim it in Tennessee. Beware of any service asking you to pay them to help you get your money back. If you are ever contacted about unclaimed property in Tennessee and would like to check the validity, go to

Tennessee Treasury’s TNStars 529 College Savings Program awards $6,000 in scholarships to five Tennessee children

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State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. is pleased to recognize Ezekiel Walters as the winner of the $5,000 Grand Prize in the 2022 TNStars Holiday Scholarship Giveaway. His grandmother, Margie Huff, entered the contest on behalf of Ezekiel, a 9-year-old from LaFollette, TN.

TNStars to give $6,000 in scholarships this holiday season

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NASHVILLE, TN – This holiday season, the TNStars College Savings 529 Program is giving away $6,000 in scholarships to Tennessee children!

This December, TNStars will award four $250 weekly prizes and one $5,000 Grand Prize. Tennessee residents 21 years or older can enter to win at TNStars.com/Holiday now through December 31 on behalf of a child, age 10 or younger.  One entry is good for weekly prizes and the grand prize throughout the entire contest period.

All prizes will be deposited into a TNStars scholarship account to be used for the winning beneficiary’s future higher education expenses, ranging from tuition and housing to books, computers, and more.

“Entering our annual holiday scholarship giveaway offers parents a chance at kickstarting their child’s college savings with extra funds,” said State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. “We enjoy helping families start saving for future education, and the earlier they start the more they can take advantage of the power of long-term investment growth.”

TNStars is designed to give Tennessee families high-quality investment options at a low cost to help them put aside money for higher education expenses. Families can invest directly with the program and money can be withdrawn tax-free from a TNStars account as long as it is used for qualified post-secondary education expenses.

The four weekly $250 scholarship winners will be drawn at random and announced beginning December 1, 2022. The grand prize $5,000-winner will be drawn at random on January 3, 2023. To enter the scholarship giveaway or to get more information on the program, visit TNStars.com.

All contest entries and winners are subject to the Official Rules of the TNStars Holiday Scholarship Giveaway.

RetireReadyTN receives Excellence & Innovation Award from Pensions & Investments

RetireReadyTN received an award for its initiative to help public employees and teachers maximize their retirement readiness.

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Nashville, TN RetireReadyTN has received a 2022 Excellence and Innovation Award from Pensions & Investments for its initiative to help public employees and teachers maximize their retirement readiness.

The Tennessee Department of Treasury, under the leadership of Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr., works to protect the retirement of state and higher education employees, K-12 public school teachers, and the employees of more than 600 participating local governments. RetireReadyTN is the State’s retirement program, combining the strengths of a defined benefit pension provided by the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS), deferred compensation 401(k), and 457(b) plans, and retirement readiness education.

RetireReadyTN was selected for the financial investment publication’s annual award for implementing a strategic plan in partnership with its recordkeeper, Empower Retirement, to increase the number of public employees and teachers meeting one-on-one with a RetireReadyTN Plan Advisor and conducting comprehensive retirement readiness reviews. Since there are 200,000 plan participants and 16 Plan Advisors, RetireReadyTN created a strategy to target public employees and teachers who could be at risk of not meeting their financial needs in retirement. The campaign targets to members who may not be saving enough to replace income when they retire, or who are invested too conservatively or too aggressively based on the number of years until retirement. 

“We thank Pensions & Investments for recognizing the focused efforts of RetireReadyTN to ensure quality, customized investment education is provided to Tennessee’s teachers and public employees, allowing them to achieve personalized retirement security needs,” Treasurer Lillard said.

“Ensuring members are on track for a successful retirement is at the core of everything we do,” said Ashley Nabors, Assistant Treasurer of the Financial Empowerment Division. “By leveraging comprehensive plan data and key indicators of retirement readiness, we can tailor our communication and outreach strategies to specifically target individuals who may not be on track to meet their goals. So far, we are seeing tremendous results. We are driving more retirement readiness meetings with the members who need it most.

Hunter Bethea, Director of the Deferred Compensation Plans, accepted this award on behalf of RetireReadyTN and the Tennessee Department of Treasury as part of the Pensions & Investments Defined Contribution West Conference. Sponsored with the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association, P&I recognized eight plans committed to improving retirement outcomes for their participants.