More than 750,000 young adults could be missing out on unclaimed savings worth an average of £2,212 – here’s how to find yours for free
Parents whose children were born between 2002 and 2011 are being issued with a £2,212 warning – as the sum could be sitting unclaimed in an account waiting for them. HMRC has released a fresh alert urging people to verify whether the payment is available for their offspring.
More than 750,000 young adults may be missing out on a windfall, officials have revealed. In a recent post on X, HMRC stated: “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.”
Child Trust Funds are long-term, tax-free savings accounts that were established, with the government contributing an initial £250, for every child born between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011. Young people can assume control of their Child Trust Fund at 16 and access the funds when they reach 18 and the account reaches maturity.
The savings are not retained by government but are instead held with banks, building societies or alternative savings providers. The funds remain in the account until they are withdrawn or reinvested.
If teenagers or their parents and guardians are already aware of their Child Trust Fund provider, they can get in touch with them directly. Should they be unsure where their account is held, they can utilise the online tool on GOV.UK to identify their Child Trust Fund provider.
Young people will require their National Insurance number – which can be located easily through the HMRC App – and their date of birth to retrieve the information.
Personal finance expert Martin Lewis has previously said:You could be up to one of a million people who has a hidden £2,000 in savings that you know nothing about.
Mr Lewis explained in a video: “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.”
A 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 are promoting their services claiming to track down Child Trust Funds, and these agents will invariably charge a fee – with one demanding up to £350 or 25% of the savings account’s value. Employing an agent can substantially diminish the sum received, is likely to be more time-consuming and customers must still provide them with the identical information required to conduct the search independently.
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 their Child Trust Fund, requiring only their National Insurance number and date of birth.
Andy Wood, tax expert at Tax Barrister UK, suggests many young adults are simply oblivious to the fact 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.”
Andy highlights that one of the most common misconceptions is that if someone has not received any communication about their account, it likely does not exist. “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.”
To use Gov tools to find a trust fund click here
