Thousands of young individuals may soon reclaim approximately £2,200 each in unclaimed savings following the Government’s initiative to locate Child Trust Funds. These funds, totaling around 6.3 million accounts, were established by the Government for children born between September 1, 2002, and January 2, 2011. Each account received an initial deposit of £250, or £500 for children from low-income families, aiming to promote saving habits. Families had the option to supplement the account with up to £9,000 annually.
However, over the years, numerous accounts have been misplaced or forgotten, with an estimated 750,000 young people holding unclaimed Child Trust Funds averaging £2,200 each. In response, the Government has introduced a task force to facilitate the retrieval of these funds to their rightful owners. Notably, these savings are not under government possession but are managed by banks, building societies, or other financial institutions.
The task force comprises various entities such as One Family, Coutts, Nationwide, HSBC UK, and others. Rachel Blake, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, highlighted the importance of raising awareness about these unclaimed funds to ensure that individuals can access what rightfully belongs to them. Similarly, JP Marks, HMRC’s Chief Executive, emphasized the significant amount of unclaimed funds and encouraged individuals to utilize the ‘Find my Child Trust Fund’ tool on GOV.UK for locating their accounts.
In April, HMRC initiated a letter campaign to remind individuals about their Child Trust Funds. It is crucial to note that HMRC solely communicates via letters for this specific initiative and does not request financial information through texts or emails. Individuals are advised not to wait for notifications but to proactively contact their Child Trust Fund provider directly. If this information is unknown, the GOV.UK tool can assist in identifying the fund’s location, requiring the National Insurance number for verification purposes.