Tell teens the news
Many young adults don’t know there’s cash lying in funds for them, says Paul Lewis
Halfway through the time when the state-backed Child Trust Funds mature, there is still £1.4 billion languishing in the trust fund accounts of 730,000 young adults who probably don’t even know it’s there – and the Government will not facilitate paying them automatically.
The funds were set up by Gordon Brown to give all children a nest egg when they reached 18. Anyone born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 (when George Osborne cancelled the scheme) was set up with a voucher from the Treasury for £250 (£500 for low-income families), which parents could use to open an account. Parents and other relatives could add to the fund, which the child could withdraw at 18.
But nearly one in three parents did not engage with the scheme or use the voucher. In those cases the Treasury opened an account for the child on its first birthday. The new figures show that at the end of 2024 half of those HMRC-allocated funds remain unclaimed, many of them belonging to people from low-income families.
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The Share Foundation, which offers a free service to reunite young people with their fund, devised a scheme so the finance firms that hold the money could use the individual’s National Insurance number to track them down through their employer, benefits claims or student loans. But speaking in the House of Lords before Christmas, Lord Livermore, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, rejected the plan, saying it was “complex” and would require “significant resources”. Instead, he said the Government would “explore ways of increasing the profile of CTFs and enabling account owners to be aware of and trace their accounts”.
Many providers, though, do not use professional tracing agents to track down account owners. So it is up to the 730,000 individuals – a number that grows each day as more reach 18 – to find their own money. Adults who have contact with 16- to 22-year-olds – whether as relatives, teachers or employers – should encourage them to do so for free at sharefound.org – 16-year[1]olds can use the service, but not access the money until they are 18.
QUESTIONS? Send any questions to Paul.Lewis@radiotimes.com. I cannot answer you personally, but I will reflect them in this column.