HMRC urging anyone born between these years to check if they're owed £2,000

According to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), approximately 671,000 young adults are sitting on unclaimed cash pots worth more than £2,000 on average. The revenue body is reminding 18 to 22 year olds with unclaimed child trust funds (CTFs) about their windfalls, with the average savings pot valued at £2,212.

CTFs were established for children born between September 1, 2002, and January 2, 2011. At the time their CTF was initiated, many children received around £250 each from the state, while those from low-income families or in local authority care received an additional £250.

Young people can take control of their account at 16 and withdraw funds when they turn 18, however, some young adults may have forgotten about their accounts or be unaware one was set up on their behalf. The savings are held in banks, building societies, or other saving providers and the money remains in the account until it is withdrawn or re-invested.

READ MORE: Tower Hamlets mum explains how she's saved £7,000 in baby's account in 10 months

If teenagers or their parents and guardians already know who their provider is, they can contact them directly - but if they do not know where their account is, they can use an online tool on gov.uk. To access the information, people will need their national insurance number and their date of birth. The CTF scheme closed in January 2011 and was replaced with Junior Isas.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC's second permanent secretary and deputy chief executive, stated: "Thousands of child trust fund accounts are sitting unclaimed we want to reunite young people with their money and we're making the process as simple as possible. You don't need to pay anyone to find your child trust fund for you, locate yours today by searching 'find your child trust fund' on gov.uk."

Meanwhile, HMRC has highlighted that third-party agents are advertising to seek out CTFs, cautioning that their charges can eat into their savings. Using such services could mean facing charges, including a cut of the savings accounts value, thus diminishing what one ultimately receives, HMRC warned.

Charlene Young, a pensions and savings expert at AJ Bell, commented: "Once you've tracked down the money you can choose what to do with it. Your options are to transfer it to an adult Isa or withdraw the money. Until then, your money will just sit in an account that no-one else has access to, possibly paying very high charges. Anything you transfer to an adult Isa at maturity will not count towards your annual Isa allowance, which is £20,000 for over-18s."

She also added that under certain circumstances, it might be beneficial for those under 18 with a CTF to shift it over to a junior Isa, where they could potentially benefit from a wider array of investment opportunities. Ms Young stated: "The money will still be locked up until you turn 18, but the tax-free benefits of Isa investing still apply. You can transfer the entire CTF into a junior Isa and still add up to £9,000 to it in the same tax year."

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