Unclaimed 401(k) match — forfeited
Say your plan matches 50% of contributions up to 6% of salary, and you're contributing 3%. You're capturing half the available match — the other half, computed against your actual salary and actual contribution rate from payroll data, is what shows up as forfeited. Raise the contribution rate and the number goes to zero; that's the whole finding, cause and fix in one card.
Employer HSA seed — forfeited
Your benefits guide says the plan deposits $750/year into your HSA for anyone enrolled in the high-deductible option, regardless of your own contribution. If your accounts show no HSA, or an HSA that never received that deposit, that's $750 flagged as unclaimed — traced straight to the line in your benefits guide that promises it.
ESPP non-participation — forfeited
Your plan offers shares at a 15% discount off the lower of two lookback prices. If payroll shows zero ESPP deductions, the finding quantifies the discount against your salary and the plan's contribution cap — money you could be capturing at close to zero market risk, sitting unclaimed because the box was never checked.
Idle cash — yield
A checking account sitting at $18,000 for six months, in a bank paying 0.01%. Once it's clearly past a reasonable emergency buffer, the missed yield versus a plain high-yield account gets flagged. We show the number; where the cash should go is your call, not ours.
Expiring stipend — forfeited
A $1,000 annual learning stipend that resets every January 1st, with $400 used and $600 sitting unclaimed as the deadline approaches. Because it doesn't roll over, the unused balance is flagged with the date attached — the one finding type where timing is the whole point.
What doesn't make the headline
An HSA contribution gap (tax savings that require your own money) and an RSU withholding gap (avoiding a future tax surprise, not found money) show up as real findings too — just below the line, never folded into the total. The headline number is only ever money that's actually forfeited or yield you're missing today.