Martin Lewis urges parents of kids aged 12-21 to do simple check to get £1,000

24 November 2023 , 08:16

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Martin Lewis issued an alert about Child Trust Funds (Image: ITV)

Martin Lewis has urged UK households to check if they have a missing Child Trust Funds account worth potentially thousands of pounds.

Child Trust Funds were launched by Labour in 2005 with the aim of helping children have savings for the future. Each child received a voucher worth £250, or £500 for those from lower income families - the child can then access the cash when they turned 18.

The accounts were given to children born between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011. But if the parent failed to open a Child Trust Fund within a year of receiving a voucher, HMRC would have opened an account on behalf of the child. This means many accounts have been forgotten about and are lying dormant.

Child Trust Fund accounts can no longer be opened, after the scheme stopped in 2011 - but you can continue to pay into existing accounts. Parents can add up to £9,000 a year. MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin urged parents of kids aged 12-21 to do a simple check to see if their son or daughter has a missing Child Trust Fund.

He said: “Any child between the 1st of September 2002, which is basically a 21-year-old, and the 2nd Jan 2011 – so a 12-year-old – will have had a Child Trust Fund and the State will have added money even if you didn’t. Up to a million children have these accounts unknowingly.

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“They are worth on average around £1000-ish. So if you don’t know about it and you have a kid that age, go to gov.uk – Child Trust Funds – and you can locate and trace where the money is.”

How to find a lost Child Trust Fund account

If you know the name of your Child Trust Fund provider, you can contact it directly to find out more about your account. If you've lost track of your account, you can ask HMRC to help you locate it by filling out a form on .

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.

Try to include as many details as possible, such as the full name, date of birth and address of the account holder, plus their National Insurance number. Child Trust Fund accounts can no longer be opened, after the scheme stopped in 2011 - but you can continue to pay into existing accounts.

Levi Winchester