Education
Thousands of young people urged to check for missing Child Trust Funds worth £2,000
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Thousands of young people urged to check for missing Child Trust Funds worth £2,000 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a new call to action for young adults to try and track down their accounts as more than six million of Child Trust Funds were set up in nearly nine years Hundreds of thousands of young adults are being urged to check if they have a forgotten Child Trust Fund worth an average of £2,000 each. Around 6.3 million Child Trust Fund accounts were set up by the...
Thousands of young people urged to check for missing Child Trust Funds worth £2,000
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a new call to action for young adults to try and track down their accounts as more than six million of Child Trust Funds were set up in nearly nine years
Hundreds of thousands of young adults are being urged to check if they have a forgotten Child Trust Fund worth an average of £2,000 each.
Around 6.3 million Child Trust Fund accounts were set up by the Government for children born between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011. But HMRC estates that 760,000 accounts remain unclaimed.
This means students who are returning to college and university this month could be missing out on money that is rightfully theirs.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a new call to action for young adults to try and track down their accounts.
You can trace a lost Child Trust Fund for free using HMRC's online tool at GOV.UK, or if you know who your Child Trust Fund provider is, you can contact them directly.
Some companies, including those advertising on social media, are offering to find and claim Child Trust Funds on people's behalf – often for a hefty fee or a cut of the final payout.
The FCA has seen cases where customers were charged £400 to locate the account and even seen some firms charging a monthly subscription for a one-off tracing service. But missing funds can be traced for free.
Chris Knight, director of insurance at the FCA, said: "A Child Trust Fund can be a welcome source of extra cash at a time when many young people need it most.
"But you don't need to pay someone else to claim what's rightfully yours – tracing and accessing your own Child Trust Fund costs nothing, so think twice about handing over a chunk of your savings to a claims firm for a job you can do yourself."
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC chief customer officer, said: "If you’re between 15 and 24, you could be sitting on a savings payout and not even realise it. Just search 'find my Child Trust Fund' on GOV.UK to find your savings account today."
HMRC started sending letters to people in April to remind them of their Child Trust Fund. If you receive a text or email from someone claiming to be from HMRC, it is a scam. HMRC will not ask you to provide any financial details.
The FCA is also launching a review into Child Trust Funds. This will look at issues including cases where young adults cannot be contacted when they turn 18 and risk losing touch with their savings altogether.