Young people in Northern Ireland born between certain dates urged to claim fund worth £2,000

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Young people in Northern Ireland born between certain dates are being urged to claim a fund worth an average of £2,212.

HMRC is urging young people to claim their Child Trust Fund, a long term, tax-free savings account set up with the UK Government depositing an initial £250.

The funds were set up for every child born between September 1, 2002, and January 2, 2011. Young people can take control of their Child Trust Fund at 16 and withdraw funds when they turn 18 and the account matures.

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The savings are not held by government but are held in banks, building societies or other saving providers. The money stays in the account until it’s withdrawn or re-invested.

If teenagers or their parents and guardians already know who their Child Trust Fund provider is, they can contact them directly. If they do not know where their account is, they can use the online tool on GOV.UK to find out their Child Trust Fund provider.

Young people will need their National Insurance number – which can be found easily using the HMRC App - and their date of birth to access the information.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Second Permanent Secretary and Deputy Chief Executive, said: "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.”

Third-party agents are advertising their services offering to search for Child Trust Funds and agents will always charge - with one charging up to £350 or 25% of the value of the savings account.

Using an agent can significantly reduce the amount received, is likely to take longer and customers still need to supply them with the same information they need to do the search themselves.

Gavin Oldham from The Share Foundation said: "If you are 18-21 years old, the government would have put money aside for you shortly after birth. This investment would have grown quite a bit and it’s in your name. The Share Foundation has linked over 65,000 young people to their Child Trust Fund accounts. It’s easy and free to find out where your money is. Go to findCTF.sharefound.org or GOV.UK to locate it today”.

In the last year more than 450,000 customers, with just their National Insurance number and date of birth, used the free GOV.UK tool to locate their Child Trust Fund.

More information on Child Trust Funds and how to access your savings can be found on GOV.UK.

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