Last year, we posted about the National Audit Office (NAO) findings that more than a quarter of matured Child Trust Funds had still not been claimed by the summer of 2023.
Currently, in the autumn of 2024, HMRC has expressed concerns that around 670,000 accounts are still unclaimed by Gen Z adults who are now between 18 and 22 years old.
Under Gordon Brown’s Labour government, Child Trust Funds were set up for every child born between 1st September 2002 and 2nd January 2011. These were started off with a £250 voucher to encourage parents to build savings accounts for their children.
As almost 30% of Child Trust Funds were established without parental involvement and the scheme closed in 2011, it’s not surprising that there are still so many unclaimed accounts, with now-adult account holders unaware of their existence.
If you aren’t sure how to find out whether you have a Child Trust Fund, this blog explains how to claim your forgotten savings and what your options are.
How to find your Child Trust Fund
All CTFs are held by a bank, building society, or other savings provider. Some of these have exited the market or merged over the last 10+ years, which makes it more difficult to locate the new provider and track down where the funds have been transferred to.
If you are an eligible adult and you don’t know who your CTF provider was, you can contact The Share Foundation for help finding it or use HMRC’s ‘Find a Child Trust Fund’ tool.
You’ll need to provide information such as your name, date of birth, address, and National Insurance number, so they can trace the bank, building society, or investment company.
HMRC advises against using third-party agents who offer to track missing Child Trust Funds, as they charge a fee for this service that can be up to 25% of the account’s value.
With a reported average of £2,200 in each unclaimed Child Trust Fund, you’ll want to find yours and access your savings with as little interference as possible.
What can you do with a Child Trust Fund?
If you are at least 18 years old and have located your Child Trust Fund, you have the choice of withdrawing the money in the account or transferring it to an Individual Savings Account (ISA).
While accessing the funds immediately may be an attractive idea, if you don’t need the money immediately, it could be better for you in the long term to invest it into a savings account with a strong interest rate, such as a two or three-year fixed-rate cash ISA.
More information about this is available on the government website in HMRC’s Child Trust Fund guide, which explains how parents can manage the account for their children and how eligible children can access their CTF when they’re old enough.
If you need further assistance managing your savings and would like professional financial advice on trust funds, you can always contact our accountants in Barnsley.
Here at gbac, we help individuals, families, and businesses with all kinds of financial planning, so give us a call on 01226 298 298 or send an email to info@gbac.co.uk to get started.