A Martin Lewis fan has shared how the expert’s handy tip helped her track down £2,000 in free cash.
A mum-of-two had read one of MSE’s newsletters late last year and decided to check if her adopted children had one of the accounts.
Kirsty explained she had no idea the Child Trust Funds even existed and shared her success story online after following tips from Martin Lewis.
Child Trust Funds are a long-term, tax-free savings accounts that were set up for children born between September 1 2002 and January 2 2011.
Each child received a voucher worth £250, or £500 for those from lower-income families.
Families could then add up to £9,000 a year, with the child able to access the money when they turn 18.
Kirsty wrote into MSE after she found £1,000 had built up in both of her children’s accounts.
She said: “As an adoptive family, we didn’t know anything about CTFs until I read one of your newsletters at the end of 2022.
“I followed the info and discovered that both children had funds set up valued at around £1,000 each.
“Thank you so much for raising awareness.”
If the parent failed to open a Child Trust Fund within a year of receiving a voucher, HMRC would have opened an account on behalf of the child.
This means many accounts have been forgotten about and are lying dormant.
Nearly 430,000 18 to 21-year-olds have an unclaimed CTF, worth an average of £2,000, according to the latest figures.
Until one’s child withdraws or transfers the money, it stays in an account that no one else has access to.
CTFS were replaced by Junior ISAs in November 2011, so people can’t get one now.
The government has an online tracing service where people can find out if they have one and which provider it’s with.
To find out more, people wll need a government gateway login and National Insurance number.
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