Managing your savings effectively to avoid your accounts becoming dormant

Make sure your savings account is not dormant.

10:13 07 December 2013

One of the first mistakes people make with savings accounts is leaving them dormant. A dormant savings account is defined as an account, which has not seen activity within the previous 12 months.

Most people deposit their money and then leave it to grow interest. They do not realise that by leaving their accounts alone without regular activity they are leaving their accounts open to dormancy status. Over time, they might run the risk of losing access to their savings account. Once this occurs, it can take weeks or even months to get back access to the money in your account.

Here is how to prevent this from happening to your savings account:

• Find out everything you can about the rules for dormant accounts. Each bank will have information on what the rules are in declaring an account dormant and what it takes to bring an account back into open status.

 

• The times may vary usually between 6 and 12 months from the last account activity. To place an account into a dormant status it means that the bank has failed to get in touch with you. A bank cannot place a savings account or any account into dormant status without having attempted to contact the owner of the account and update them of the pending status change.

What Happens When a Savings Account Goes Dormant?

When a savings account goes dormant, you can still get access to your money back, as long as it is within 15 years of the account going dormant. On the other hand, to regain access to your account you will need to fill out and file forms, which will then need to be approved. To avoid this, simply make a small deposit or withdrawal on a regular basis to maintain account activity. Avoid having the government spend your hard-earned savings by managing your savings account effectively.