Latonya Skye-Paterson is one of thousands of young people who have a Child Trust Account that they didn’t know existed
A woman has revealed how she found £955 in a lost savings account.
Latonya Skye-Paterson, 20, is one of thousands of young people who have a Child Trust Account that they didn’t know existed. Child Trust Funds are saving accounts that were offered to children born between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011. For each account, the child was given a voucher worth £250, or £500 for those from lower income families.
But if the parent didn’t open the Child Trust Fund, then HMRC would have opened one on behalf of the child – this means many people may not realise they even have one of these accounts. You can’t open a new Child Trust Fund but you can continue to pay into an existing account. It is only possible to access your Child Trust Fund once you turn 18.
Latonya told the BBC she only thought to check if she had a Child Trust Fund after speaking to her college tutor. She said: “My college tutor told me about it but my brother is a year older and went to the same college and he wasn’t told about it so it’s luck of the draw who knows, who tells who.
Latonya added: “I found I had £955 in there, which is a lot. A lot more than I was expecting… it helped me so much.” The Share Foundation is calling for automatic pay-outs for some Child Trust Funds if they’ve not been claimed by the time the account holders turn 21. This would apply to “HMRC allocated” accounts that were set up by HMRC on behalf of the parent or legal guardian. Latest figures show there are a total of £927million sitting in 449,000 “HMRC allocated” accounts.
HMRC told the BBC: “For HMRC to close these accounts, obtain the savings in those accounts and transfer them with or without the owner’s consent would require careful legal consideration. The government is committed to reuniting all young adults with their CTFs and recognises the importance of ensuring that young adults can benefit from these funds as they reach adulthood.”
How to find a lost Child Trust Fund account
If you know the name of your Child Trust Fund provider, you can contact it directly to find out more about your account. If you’ve lost track of your account, you can ask HMRC to help you locate it by filling out a form onGOV.UK. You can ask HMRC to find a Child Trust Fund if you’re a parent or guardian of a child under 18, or if you’re 16 or over and looking for your own account.
You will need your National Insurance number and Government Gateway – this is free to create – to fill out the online form. Once you’ve entered the right information, HMRC should tell you the name of the Child Trust Fund provider within three weeks.
You can also request details by post by writing to: Charities, Savings and International 1, HMRC, BX9 1AU. Try to include as many details as possible, such as the full name, date of birth and address of the account holder, plus their National Insurance number.
