Mum discovers £11,000 in 'lost' account and explains how to find missing cash
A mother is urging other parents to check if their child is missing out on forgotten savings.
Sharon Maloney, 45, was stunned when she discovered her son Jonah, 15, had £11,000 saved up in a lost Child Trust Fund account. The early years practitioner had forgotten the savings pot existed after they moved to Hong Kong following the breakdown of her relationship.
Child Trust Funds are savings accounts that were set up for every child born between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011. Most children received a voucher worth £250 (or £500 for those from lower income families) to open the account, and families could then top it up with up to £9,000 a year.
Child Trust Fund accounts can no longer be opened, after the scheme stopped in 2011 - but you can continue to pay into existing accounts, or move it over to a Junior ISA. HMRC says the average account is worth £2,000.
Each child is only able to only access the money in their account when they turn 18. However, many young adults have lost track of their Child Trust Fund - with HMRC today urging almost 430,000 18-21 year olds to claim their cash.
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Sharon and Jonah didn't realise he had £11,000 saved (Supplied)Sharon had trouble tracking down the Child Trust Fund as her son’s account had been transferred to a new provider. She then came across a website called Gretel, which is a free platform that searches for lost bank accounts, pensions, Child Trust Funds, insurance, and more.
Sharon said: “This summer I returned to the UK for a visit, and I was talking to a friend about planning for our future, when I remembered I had a Child Trust Fund for my son. As I’m no longer together with his father, we had to rack our brains to try and find the paperwork for the bank.
“Gretel were able to track down the new company that had taken it over, and passed on the details to me, including contact information that put me directly in touch. I was then able to set up new security protocols - all within an hour. It was a marvellous relief.”
Jonah will be able to access the Child Trust Fund when he turns 18 - and mum Sharon says she is happy it will give him a head start in his adult life. She said: “We definitely did not expect that much money to be in the account so you can imagine how happy my son and I were. I know at least for the short term future, he has a nest egg to start him off when he becomes an adult.”
How to track down missing Child Trust Fund
If you know the name of a bank, building society or savings firm you might have money in, contact them first. If you cannot remember the details of an old account, Gretel might be able to help.
The more details you have the better - you'll need the name, address, and date of birth of the person who has the Child Trust Fund. Once you have found the provider of the Child Trust Fund, you can then get in contact with them to locate the account.
Duncan Stevens, CEO of Gretel, said: “As the cost of living rises, a burden felt heavily by younger people as they start out in life, it’s important that they can be reunited with ease and speed with money that is rightfully theirs.
“With public awareness of CTFs being relatively low, part of the issue seems to be that the financial providers responsible for administering accounts do not hold the correct contact details for the beneficiary or their family and therefore cannot communicate with them. Indeed, of the thousands of people who have matched to a 'lost' Child Trust Fund though Gretel, in almost 70% of cases the company holding the account was unaware the account holder had moved.”
You can also ask HMRC to help you find a Child Trust Fund by filling out this form on Gov.uk. You can ask HMRC to find a Child Trust Fund if you’re a parent or guardian of a child under 18, or if you’re 16 or over and looking for your own account. You will need your National Insurance number and Government Gateway - this is free to create - to fill out the online form.
Once you've entered the right information, HMRC should tell you the name of the Child Trust Fund provider within three weeks. You can also request details by post by writing to: Charities, Savings and International 1, HMRC, BX9 1AU.
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