Martin Lewis warning to anyone aged 22 or under as they could be due £2,000
Child Trust Funds were issued to children born between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011 - and there's a huge amount of money sitting in forgotten accounts
by Levi Winchester · ChronicleLiveMoney-saving expert Martin Lewis has issued an important call to action for those aged 22 or under, advising them to check whether they might have a forgotten Child Trust Fund (CTF) account waiting with their name on it.
CTFs were available for individuals born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, with each child receiving a £250 voucher (£500 for lower income families) to kickstart their savings. Designed to foster a culture of saving from a young age, the scheme allowed families to deposit as much as £9,000 annually into these funds.
However, there's a twist: if a CTF wasn't set up by a parent or guardian, then HMRC would have automatically created one for the child. As a result, countless accounts have slipped through the cracks, remaining unclaimed representing a potential windfall that many are unaware of.
It is only once the individual turns 18 that they can access these funds.
For anyone who might have lost track of a CTF, Martin has shared invaluable advice via X/Twitter, highlighting how simple it is to recover your account without spending a penny. His message is clear: "A warning to those age 22 or under. You may have £2,000 in a Child Trust Fund. You can access it for free. Yet some firms are trying to charge you to get your own money. Don't pay.", reports the Mirror.
With recent HMRC data indicating that over 670,000 people between the ages of 18 and 22 haven't yet claimed their CTF money, and with the average value of these savings pots hitting £2,212, it's worth the effort to check. Although new CTF accounts are no longer an option since the programme ended in 2011, contributions to existing ones can still be made.
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If you're aware of your Child Trust Fund provider's name, you can directly contact them for more information about your account. However, if you've misplaced details of your account, HMRC can assist in locating it by completing a form on GOV.
UK. This service is available to parents or guardians of children under 18, as well as individuals aged 16 or over seeking their own account.
To complete the online form, you'll need your National Insurance number and a Government Gateway account, which is free to set up. Once the correct information has been submitted, HMRC should provide the name of the Child Trust Fund provider within three weeks.
Alternatively, you can request this information via post by writing to: Charities, Savings and International 1, HMRC, BX9 1AU. It's recommended to include as much detail as possible, such as the full name, date of birth, address of the account holder, and their National Insurance number.