Brits born in a nine-year period are being urged to claim thousands of pounds they didn’t know they had in in Child Trust Funds.
New figures are suggesting that there is an unclaimed £1.4bn belonging to 728,000 people, that is ready to be claimed since they have turned 18.
However, incredibly most people have no idea these funds exist, according to The Share Foundation that traces lost funds.
This has led to one senior MP even calling for pay-outs to be made automatically, however the government has claimed this would be too complex and costly.
In fact, so many accounts have yet to be claimed, that HMRC were prompted to send out an alert on X calling for potential trust fund owners to claim their money.
HMRC’s message said: “If you were born between 1st September 2002 and 2nd January 2011, you are likely to have a Child Trust Fund worth an average of £2,200. Already turned 18? It’s yours to cash in. Find out more on GOV.UK.“
To find out whether you’re owed some money, the process in fairly simple, although there are a few requirements to fulfil first.
Those entitled to the money must be born between September 2002 and January 2011 and only the child can access the money once they turn 18.
The process is easier if the child or parent or guardian know which institution the account is housed in.
However, if that has been forgotten, HMRC can aid in tracking down the fund.
Details needed to track down a Child Trust Fund include, a National Insurance number, full name, address, date of birth and any previous names of the child in whose name the account is.
After supplying this information, it should take three weeks to receive a letter from HMRC detailing the fund provider.
This service is available solely to parents, guardians, or the named individual only if they are 16 years or older.
If the child was adopted or you were granted parental responsibility by a court, additional information may be required by HMRC.
Any interest on the money is tax free like an ISA.
However, no more deposits can be made into the account once the child turns 18, at which point the owner can take the money or transfer it into an adult ISA.
If the child does not claim the account after turning 18 it remains open, however, will not gain any more interest.
These Child Trust Funds were set up in 2005 by Gordon Brown when he was chancellor.
Upon announcing the scheme at the time, he said: “The CTF is designed to ensure that every child in our country has assets and wealth and that no child is left out and all children in Britain have a stake in the wealth of the nation.”