PARENTS of children born between 2002 and 2011 could be sitting on up to £2,200 of unclaimed cash, according to HMRC.
The taxman has issued a new alert for those with children aged 14 to 24.
Could you be sitting on more than £2000 without even knowing it? Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
More than 750,000 young adults in the UK may be losing out on a Child Trust Fund, now estimated to be worth around £2,200.
Making the announcement via X, HMRC said: “Could you have a Child Trust Fund waiting to be claimed? If you were born between 1st September 2002 and 2nd January 2011, you’re likely to have a #ChildTrustFund worth an average of £2,200.”
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Child Trust Funds are a type of tax free savings accounts, which were set up for every child born between September 2002 and January 2 2011.
The government deposited £250 for every child born between that period or £500 if they came from a low- income family.
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From there, parents could either deposit an annual amount of up to £9,000 or let the initial £250 grow through interest.
The scheme was eventually axed in 2011 and later replaced with Junior ISAs.
Young people are able to take control of their account once they turn 16, and can withdraw the funds once they turn 18 years old.
However, accounts can go unclaimed for a number of reasons such as difficultly locating them, people forgetting they have them, or a decision to leave the funds invested.
Previously, personal finance expert Martin Lewis, said up to a million of these accounts are thought to be “lost”, meaning “people have lost track of them, or are unaware that they have them”.
However, all that is required to access these accounts is a National Insurance number – which can be found quickly via the HMRC app – as well as a date of birth.
Either parents or their children are able to check whether they have a Child Trust Fund through the government website, using the free GOV.UK tool.
Alternatively, they can contact their Child Trust Fund provider directly.
How to track down missing money
If you think you are entitled to a Child Trust Fund, you can track it down using a Government tool.
You can find this by searching for “find a Child Trust Fund” on GOV.UK.
You’ll need to have a few personal details to hand to do the search, including your date of birth and National Insurance (NI) number.
Your NI number remains the same for your entire life. It’s made up of two letters, six numbers and a final letter.
You can find this number on your payslips or by downloading the HMRC app, which can be downloaded on the Apple or Google Play Store.
When you’re done filling this out, HMRC will then send you a letter revealing what company has your Child Trust Fund.
There are a number of third- party groups offering to search for Child Trust Funds but it’s worth noting that they will charge a fee so you might lose a chunk of your money.
