671,000 young people urged to cash in their government savings pot
Thousands of young people could have 拢2,200 sitting unclaimed in their Child Trust Fund account.
- Young people urged to claim their Child Trust Fund
- 拢2,200 on average waiting in unclaimed accounts
More than 670,000 18-22 year olds yet to claim their Child Trust Fund are reminded to cash in their stash as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reveals the average savings pot is worth 拢2,212.
Child Trust Funds are long term, tax-free savings accounts which were set up, with the government depositing 拢250, for every child born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. Young people聽can take control of their Child Trust Fund at 16 and withdraw funds when they turn 18 and the account matures.
The savings are not held by government but are held in banks, building societies or other saving providers. The money stays in the account until it鈥檚 withdrawn or re-invested.
If teenagers or their parents and guardians already know who their Child Trust Fund provider is, they can contact them directly. If they do not know where their account is, they can use the online tool on 188体育 to find out their Child Trust Fund provider. Young people will need their National Insurance number 鈥� which can be found easily using the HMRC app - 聽and their date of birth to access the information.
Angela MacDonald, HMRC鈥檚 Second Permanent Secretary and Deputy Chief Executive, said:
Thousands of Child Trust Fund accounts are sitting unclaimed 鈥� we want to reunite young people with their money and we鈥檙e making the process as simple as possible.
You don鈥檛 need to pay anyone to find your Child Trust Fund for you, locate yours today by searching 鈥榝ind your Child Trust Fund鈥� on 188体育.
Third-party agents are advertising their services offering to search for Child Trust Funds and agents will always charge - with one charging up to 拢350 or 25% of the value of the savings account.
Using an agent can significantly reduce the amount received, is likely to take longer and customers still need to supply them with the same information they need to do the search themselves.
Gavin Oldham, The Share Foundation, said:
If you are 18-21 years old, the government would have put money aside for you shortly after birth. This investment would have grown quite a bit and it鈥檚 in your name. The Share Foundation has linked over 65,000 young people to their Child Trust Fund accounts. It鈥檚 easy and free to find out where your money is. Go to聽 or 188体育 to locate it today.
In the last year more than 450,000 customers, with just their National Insurance number and date of birth, used the free 188体育 tool to locate their Child Trust Fund.
More information on Child Trust Funds and how to access your savings can be found on 188体育.
Further Information
Latest figures for Child Trust Funds included in the Annual Savings Statistics 聽were released on 19 September 2024 and include figures up to April 2024.
The Child Trust Fund scheme closed in January 2011 and was replaced with聽Junior Individual Savings Accounts (ISA).
If a parent or guardian was not able to set up an account for their child, the government opened a savings account on the child鈥檚 behalf.