PRIVACY
News

HMRC says young people could have thousands sitting in 'forgotten' accounts

Youngsters may have up to £2,000 sitting in a forgotten savings account

See news near you
Young people could have a lump sum waiting for them in a 'forgotten' bank account

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued an alert to people born between between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011 that they may have a Child Trust Fund account that they didn’t know about. Young people whose dates of birth fall within these dates may unknowingly be missing out on thousands of pounds.

Child Trust Funds are long-term tax-free savings accounts for children born between the above dates who would be between the ages of 12 and 21 right now. The government puts forward an initial deposit of £250 and families have been able to continue to top it up with as much as £9,000 per year.

Money that is paid into the account belongs to the child but they can only take it out when they reach 18, although they can take control of the account at age 16, reports YorkshireLive. Once they turn 18 no more money can be added to the account, but it can be withdrawn or transferred into an adult ISA and the Child Trust Fund will then close.

READ MORE: Four teenagers drowned when car crashed off road in Snowdonia

READ MORE: Thief stole charity boxes during raid on North Wales petrol station

But until your child withdraws or transfers the money, it will remain in an account that no one else has access to. HMRC says that almost 430,000 people aged between 18 and 21 still have money sitting in an unclaimed Child Trust Fund without realising and the account could be worth around £2,000.

The government is now urging everyone born between the qualifying dates to check if they have a stash of money waiting to be claimed. In a post on X (formerly Twitter ), HMRC said: “Were you born between 1 Sep 2002 and 2 Jan 2011? Check if you have forgotten savings in a Child Trust Fund – worth around £2,000 on average (T&Cs apply).”

Currently, there are 5.3 million open Child Trust Fund accounts and more than 500,000 matured accounts have been claimed or transferred into an ISA since the oldest children on the scheme turned 18 in September 2020. To track one down you can contact the fund provider directly if you know who the account is with, or if not, you can ask your parent or guardian.