Guide: how to locate lost money with Har HaKesef (הר הכסף)
The “Har HaKesef” website is a free, secure government search engine that lets you locate bank accounts, insurance policies, and pension savings forgotten over the years. It is an essential tool for organizing your family’s financial assets.
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The Har HaKesef (הר הכסף) website is a free, secure government search engine that lets you locate bank accounts, insuranceA contract under which an insurance company undertakes to compensate the insured in the event of damage in exchange for a periodic payment. policies, and pension savingsA general term for long-term savings products (pension fund, managers’ insurance, or provident fund) intended for retirement. forgotten over the years. It is an essential tool for organizing your financial assets and those of your family members.
What should you prepare in advance?
- Your ID card (including its exact issue date).
- Answers to changing identification questions for passing the secure-identification stages.
To perform the search, go to the Ministry of Finance’s Har HaKesef website.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: choose the search channel on the home page
On the website’s main page, the system presents two separate search options. Choose the option relevant to your needs:
- Search for pension savings and insurance policies: A channel managed by the Ministry of Finance that locates kupot gemel (קופות גמל; provident funds), pensionA monthly payment made to a person after retirement from work in order to help maintain their standard of living. funds, kranot hishtalmut (קרנות השתלמות; study funds), and life insuranceProvides for payment of a sum of money to beneficiaries in the event of the insured person’s death..
- Search for bank accounts: A channel managed by the Bank of Israel that locates inactive current accounts or deposits.
Step 2: secure identification
Enter your ID number and password.
If you have not yet registered for the national information system, click “Register” on the left. Complete the verification process using the questions shown on the screen.
Step 3: generate the financial-institutions report
After the verification process is complete, the system will perform a scan and generate a consolidated-data report for you. A detailed list will appear on the screen of the financial institutions (banks, insurance companies, or investment houses) where accounts or policies registered in your name exist. Scroll on the left to see the full list.
Step 4: contact the institutions on the list directly
The Har HaKesef website shows only that an account exists and the name of the managing institution, but it does not display the sums of money. You must therefore contact each of the financial institutions shown in the report directly and clarify the following details with them:
- Which exact financial products exist in your portfolio.
- What is the current, exact monetary balance accumulated in the account.
- Whether the account is still defined as active and earning a returnThe profit (or loss) from an investment over a certain period, usually expressed as a percentage of the original amount invested., or is inactive.
- Whether it is appropriate and financially worthwhile for you to consolidate the funds, withdraw the money, or transfer the balances to another institution.
A point to consider: The Ministry of Finance limits the number of free searches that can be performed each year for each ID number to only 10 searches. It is recommended to make this check a regular financial routine and perform it once every two or three years, or immediately after ending an employment relationship with an employer. Even if you performed such a check in the past, it is worth repeating it once every few years to make sure no family money is lost.