People are being urged by the HMRC rto check if they need to track down the money – with 750,000 missing out
Parents who had children between 2002 and 2011 are being given a £2,212 warning – because it might be sitting in an account ready for them. The HMRC has issued a new warning that people need to check the payment is there for their children.
More than 750,000 young adults could be missing out on a payout, officials said. In a new 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. “
Child Trust Funds are long term, tax-free savings accounts which were set up, with the government depositing £250, for every child born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. Young people 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 The money stays in the account until it’s withdrawn or re-invested.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 GOV.UK to find out their Child Trust Fund provider. Young people will need their National Insurance number – which can be found easily using the HMRC App – and their date of birth to access the information.
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 advertising their services offering to search for Child Trust Funds and agents will always charge – with one charging up to £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.
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”.
In the last year more than 450,000 customers, with just their National Insurance number and date of birth, used the free GOV.UK tool to locate their Child Trust Fund.
Andy Wood, tax expert at Tax Barrister UK, says many young adults are simply 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.”
Andy says one of the biggest misconceptions is that if someone hasn’t heard anything about their account, it probably doesn’t 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. https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/find-a-child-trust-fund?&utm_source=t.co_hmrccs&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=child_trust_funds
