HMRC has issued a fresh alert urging people to check whether they have a Child Trust Fund, as more than 750,000 young adults could be missing out on unclaimed savings worth an average of £2,212.
What is a Child Trust Fund?
Child Trust Funds are long-term, tax-free savings accounts set up with a government contribution of £250 for every child born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. Young people can take control of the account at 16 and withdraw the money when they turn 18, when the account matures.
The funds are not held by the government. They sit with banks, building societies or other savings providers and remain in the account until withdrawn or reinvested.
How to track down an account
In a post on X, HMRC said: "Could you have a Child Trust Fund waiting to be claimed? If you were born between 1st September 2002 and 2nd January 2011, you're likely to have a #ChildTrustFund worth an average of £2,200."
If a teenager or their parents/guardians already know the provider, they can contact it directly. If not, the free online tool on GOV.UK can identify the provider. To use it, young people need their National Insurance number - available through the HMRC App - and their date of birth.
Martin Lewis: up to a million may be lost
Personal finance expert Martin Lewis has previously warned: "You could be up to one of a million people who has a hidden £2,000 in savings that you know nothing about."
In a video, he explained: "Now, you might be thinking, but my parents didn't have any money to put in. It doesn't matter, because the state started everybody off with at least 250 quid, and for some from lower income backgrounds £500."
"So every child trust fund between those dates had money in it. But of the 6.3 million trial trust funds that were active. It’s thought up to a million of them are lost, meaning people have lost track of them, or are unaware that you have them, and that could be you."
"This is really about checking to make sure you know you have a child trust fund. You know where the money is, and you can access it when it’s time. Thankfully, to do that, there is a tool on gov dot UK. Just search child trust fund on there to do it."
Warning over paid agents
An HMRC spokesperson said: "Thousands of Child Trust Fund accounts are sitting unclaimed – we want to reunite young people with their money and we're making the process as simple as possible. You don't need to pay anyone to find your Child Trust Fund for you, locate yours today by searching 'find your Child Trust Fund' on GOV.UK."
Third-party agents advertise services to track down Child Trust Funds, but they charge a fee - one has been known to demand up to £350 or 25% of the account's value. Using an agent can significantly reduce the amount received, takes longer, and still requires the same information people would need to search for free.
Why accounts go missing
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's in your name. The Share Foundation has linked over 65,000 young people to their Child Trust Fund accounts. It's easy and free to find out where your money is. Go to findCTF.sharefound.org or GOV.UK to locate it today".
Over the past year, more than 450,000 customers have used the free GOV.UK tool to trace a Child Trust Fund, using only a National Insurance number and date of birth.
Andy Wood, tax expert at Tax Barrister UK, says many young adults are unaware the accounts exist. "Many Child Trust Funds were opened automatically by parents, guardians or HMRC itself more than two decades ago, meaning it's entirely possible for someone to reach adulthood without realising they have one."
"For some people, it could be one of the largest sums of money they've ever had access to, so it's understandable why the Government is encouraging people to check."
Wood also said a common misconception is that a lack of paperwork means no account exists. "People often assume that if they've never received paperwork or don't remember their parents mentioning a Child Trust Fund, then they won't have one. In reality, records may have been lost following house moves, changes in family circumstances or simply because the account was opened many years ago."
