Some people born between two particular years could be owed a significant amount of cash. Calls are being made for those aged between 18 and 22 to check if there is a lost Child Trust Fund (CTF) in their name that could have been accumulating cash. The account, which was made available for every child born from September 1, 2022, to January 2, 2011, could contain tax-free savings.
According to the Share Foundation, roughly £1.4bn has been left unclaimed through CTFs with around 728,000 accounts being left unclaimed. Furthermore, it is believed that an average of £2,212 is available in these accounts, including an initial government deposit of £250.
Control over the account is available from the age of 16, with funds being accessible once an individual turns 18. It’s important to note that these are not government-held funds, instead the savings are held with banks, building societies, and other financial institutions where they will remain until they are either withdraw or reinvested.
Gavin Oldham of The Share Foundation highlighted: “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.”
How to claim a Child Trust Fund
The first step to claiming a CTF is finding out who the provider of the account is. If you’re not sure of this, you can use the government’s online tool which can help locate the account through the use of a National Insurance Number and date of birth.
You can use this service to get details from the HMRC as long as you are either:
- a parent or guardian of a child under the age of 18
- aged 16 or over and looking for your own trust fund
Once you have loated who the account provider is, you can contact them directly to help you find out how much is in the account and how much you can withdraw. Otherwise, the Share Foundation also helps individuals find their CTF with its free service.
The Share Foundation also has a CTF Register which it developed in partnership with The Tracing Group. This register stores the data of all relevant adresses that have either “gone away” alongside “never registered” CTF accounts held by participating account providers.
When a young person registers an account the Share Foundation, their information is checked alongside the register to help locate a potential account.