18-21 years old? Here’s how to find your £2,100 secret pot of cash as £1.7bn remains unclaimed in Child Trust Funds

Young adults are sitting on a £1.7bn pot of unclaimed cash, a new analysis of HMRC data from Wealthify shows.

More than a million 18-21 year olds have yet to claim their Child Trust Fund money worth an average of £2,100.

This is because more than half of young adults are unaware of the existence of CTFs and three in five have no idea how to claim their money.

We reveal what you need to know about CTFs and how you (or your child) can claim them.

What is a CTF?

CTFs are tax-free savings accounts launched by the government in 2005.

Every child born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 received a helping hand in the form of a voucher worth £250.

In some cases an additional payment of £250 was made if the child was born between 1 September 2009 and 31 July 2010. Poorer families received at least £500. The scheme closed on 1 January 2011.

The first CTFs expired in 2020 and children will continue to be of age to claim them until 2029.

Part of the problem of unclaimed CTFs is the ‘lost years’, from when the scheme closed to new entrants in 2011 to when they started to expire in 2018/2019.

CTFs fell on the priority list, so HMRC did not keep a close eye on the providers.

In the meantime, these providers had been unable to contact hundreds of thousands of parents and children – often because they had moved

How to track down your child’s CTF

You do not necessarily have to trace the provider where a CTF is located.

If your child is looking to start their own CTF, they will need to complete an online form to ask HMRC where the account was originally opened.

They must create a Government Gateway user ID and password if they don’t already have one.

They must also have their citizen service number to hand.

Any parent looking for a CTF they set up will need the child’s unique reference number, which can be found on the annual CTF statement, or their child’s social security number.

An easier way for people between the ages of 16 and 18 to find their account is through charity Sharing foundation.

Andrew Russell, CEO of Wealthify, said: ‘CTFs are equivalent because they were available to all children born in Britain at the time, regardless of their background.

“For young people on the cusp of adulthood, gaining access to a lump sum like this presents a unique opportunity to manage money positively, just as they become financially independent.

“But too many teens risk missing out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to jump-start their financial future simply because they don’t know about it.

Sharon Davies, CEO of Young Enterprise, added: “In so many households, concerns about money management have been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis.

It is therefore critical that young people are informed and educated about all the resources available, to ensure they are equipped with the skills to create a positive relationship with money, and a path to a secure future.

“Child Trust Funds have the potential to be a life-changing tool that a significant number of 16-18 year olds are unaware of, even as they represent an incredible opportunity to help young people learn money management from an earlier stage of life.”