HM Revenue and Customs have said people born between two dates are set to be due a £2,200 boost. Officials have taken to X to say people might have the forgotten cash in an account.
The Child Trust Fund is a long-term tax-free savings account for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. The HMRC said: “Are you aged between 18 and 22 years old, or know someone who is?
“They might have around £2,200 forgotten savings in a Child Trust Fund.” More than 725,000 Child Trust Funds worth £1.4 billion are currently unclaimed.
Most accounts were opened with a £250 deposit from the government, and parents or guardians could deposit up to £9,000 a year. So, with interest or investment growth, they could be worth a lot more now. The average unclaimed Child Trust Fund is worth around £2,200.
If you know who your Child Trust Fund is held with, contact them and they’ll let you know your next steps. If you’re not sure if you have a Child Trust Fund, or you’ve lost the details, Find your Child Trust Fund for free at GOV.UK. You can also use The Share Foundation’s free tool to locate it.
Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Second Permanent Secretary and Deputy Chief Executive, said previously: “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.”
Last year more than 450,000 customers, with their National Insurance number and date of birth, used the free GOV.UK tool to locate their Child Trust Fund. Young people can take control of their Child Trust Fund at 16 and withdraw funds when they turn 18 and the account matures.