HMRC is advising parents to verify if their child may have an overlooked savings account valued at £2,200.
The alert pertains to Child Trust Funds, which were provided to children born between September 1, 2002, and January 2, 2011. Each child received a voucher worth £250, or £500 for those from lower-income families, to encourage families to initiate savings.
Parents had the option to enhance the Child Trust Fund with up to £9,000 per tax year. In cases where the parent did not establish the Child Trust Fund, HMRC would have done so on behalf of the child, leading to many of these accounts being misplaced or forgotten.
Recent HMRC data indicates that the average value of a Child Trust Fund is £2,200, although individual amounts may vary depending on the savings accumulated in the account.
In a social media post on Twitter, HMRC notified parents, stating, “Attention parents! If your child has recently turned 18, they may have a #ChildTrustFund, worth an average of £2,200.”
While new Child Trust Funds cannot be opened, contributions can continue into existing accounts. Access to the Child Trust Fund is only permitted upon reaching 18 years of age.
If aware of the Child Trust Fund provider’s name, individuals can directly contact them for further details. In cases where the account details are lost, individuals can seek HMRC’s assistance in locating it by completing a form on GOV.UK.
Parents or guardians of children under 18, or individuals aged 16 or above searching for their own account, can request HMRC to locate a Child Trust Fund. To fill out the online form, individuals will need their National Insurance number and Government Gateway ID. Alternatively, they can request information by mail by writing to Charities, Savings, and International 1, HMRC, BX9 1AU, including comprehensive account holder details and National Insurance number.
The Mirror recently highlighted the story of Tayo Olutunde, an accounting and finance student, who discovered his Child Trust Fund exceeding £2,000. Tayo, aged 22 and residing in Leeds, shared, “I found out about Child Trust Funds on TikTok… this was about two years ago. I was quite interested and I looked into it, but I thought, let’s just leave it, as it sounded too good to be true. Fast forward to now, and I spoke to my mum and she said, yeah, I do have an account.”