HMRC is urging thousands of young people to check if they could have forgotten savings sitting in a Child Trust Fund account.
New figures released from the tax office show more than 670,000 people aged 18 to 22 have yet to claim their Child Trust Fund. The average savings pot is worth £2,212. Child Trust Funds were launched by Labour in 2005 and were offered to children born between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011.
Each child received a voucher worth £250, or £500 for those from lower income families. Families could then add up to £9,000 a year, with the child able to access the money when they turn 18. If the parent failed to open a Child Trust Fund within a year of receiving a voucher, HMRC would have opened an account on behalf of the child.
This means many accounts have been forgotten about and are lying dormant. Child Trust Fund accounts can no longer be opened, after the scheme stopped in 2011 - but you can continue to pay into existing accounts.
Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Second Permanent Secretary and Deputy Chief Executive, 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.”
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How to find a lost Child Trust Fund accountIf you know the name of your Child Trust Fund provider, you can contact it directly to find out more about your account. If you've lost track of your account, you can ask HMRC to help you locate it by filling out a form on GOV.UK. You can ask HMRC to find a Child Trust Fund if you’re a parent or guardian of a child under 18, or if you’re 16 or over and looking for your own account.
You will need your National Insurance number and Government Gateway - this is free to create - to fill out the online form. Once you've entered the right information, HMRC should tell you the name of the Child Trust Fund provider within three weeks.
You can also request details by post by writing to: Charities, Savings and International 1, HMRC, BX9 1AU. Try to include as many details as possible, such as the full name, date of birth and address of the account holder, plus their National Insurance number.
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