Hundreds of thousands of young adults could be missing out on savings worth an average of £2,200, as the government launches a new drive to reconnect them with unclaimed Child Trust Funds.
Around 6.3 million Child Trust Fund accounts were opened for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, with the aim of giving every child a financial asset when they reached adulthood.
However, more than 750,000 matured accounts remain unclaimed, holding over £1.6 billion in total.
Accounts may remain untouched for several reasons. Some young people do not know they have a Child Trust Fund, while others may have lost track of the provider or chosen to leave the money invested.
To address the issue, the government has created a Child Trust Fund Taskforce, bringing together account providers and other organisations to improve coordination and make it easier for young people to locate and access their savings.
Members include OneFamily, Coutts, Nationwide, HSBC UK, Pilling, Coventry Building Society, Sheffield Mutual, Unity Mutual, Foresters Financial, Healthy Investment and The Share Foundation.
The taskforce will focus on increasing awareness, improving the process of tracing accounts and helping providers reunite more customers with funds held in their name.
Rachel Blake, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said too many young people were missing out simply because they did not know where their account was held or how to access it.
The latest initiative builds on wider government efforts to raise awareness of unclaimed Child Trust Funds and encourage eligible young adults to use the free tracing service available through GOV.UK.
For those who discover an account, the money could provide a valuable financial boost at the beginning of adult life, whether towards education, housing, transport or other essential costs.
The message is straightforward: young adults born within the qualifying dates should check whether they have a Child Trust Fund, even if they or their family cannot remember where it was opened.
