MoneySavingExpert (MSE) is telling parents that their children may be eligible for £2,000 that some families have ‘forgotten about’. The consumer website, established by Martin Lewis, issued a social media appeal, revealing that youngsters born within a specific timeframe might be able to claim thousands.
In a Facebook post, MSE said: “Have a child between 15 and 23? They need to know this.” The post explained: “They could be sitting on an average of £2,200 and have absolutely no idea about it.
“All UK children born from 1 September 2002 to 2 January 2011 had a Child Trust Fund, and the state automatically put £250 in it. But many have been forgotten about and lost… But good news! HMRC has a handy tool to find ‘em.”
As per the MSE website, anyone born between the dates could be “one of 750,000 missing out on an average £2,200 lying dormant in a Child Trust Fund.” The total can vary between accounts, but some could have thousands.
MSE said: “Until 31 July 2010, the Government added the first £250 or £500, plus a further £250 or £500 if the child turned seven before that date. From 1 August 2010 to 2 January 2011, this second payment was scrapped while the initial payment ranged from £50 to £500. Either way, every account has a sum of money sitting in it.”
You can find a missing Child Trust Fund by using the free Find a Child Trust Fund tool on gov.uk. You will require either your National Insurance number or your child’s, along with their date of birth and a Government Gateway ID to pinpoint the provider. You’ll also need any adoption details, reports the Mirror.
In response to the Facebook post, some MSE fans shared their own success stories. For instance, a parent wrote: “My son has £5,000 in his now to be taken when he’s 18 next year.”
A second reply said: “My daughters both got around 4k when they were 18 and the trust fund was switched to an ISA.” A different social media user replied: “My son didn’t get it, born the week after! However, my daughter did and we was recommended to put into stocks and shares. So glad I did, she did extremely well!”
However, someone wrote: “My 15-year-old got £65!!” A similar reply said: “About the same for mine. So disappointing.” Another response said: “Both grandsons only received £500 each from their trusts.”
There were also comments from parents who said their children missed out. For instance, a parent wrote: “Not for me daughter 14, born August 2011, Son 24 born January 2002. So both just missed out either end.” Someone else commented: “My daughter was due before Xmas 2010 but was actually born on 4/1/11 so two days too late.”