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Government and Banks Form Taskforce to Reunite Young Adults With £1.6bn in Forgotten Child Trust Funds

The group will test improved tracing and targeted outreach to increase claims so people can access matured savings held by private providers.

Overview

  • The new Child Trust Fund Taskforce met for the first time on Monday to coordinate HM Treasury, HMRC and 11 banks and providers on tracing and claims.
  • More than 750,000 matured CTF accounts remain unclaimed, together holding about £1.6 billion with an average balance of roughly £2,200 per holder.
  • Taskforce members include OneFamily, Coutts, Nationwide, HSBC UK, Sheffield Mutual and Yorkshire Building Society, which will share data and test practical tracing approaches.
  • HMRC is continuing parallel outreach by sending direct letters to eligible 21-year-olds and promoting the free ‘Find my Child Trust Fund’ service that uses a National Insurance number to locate accounts.
  • CTFs were created for people born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, the savings are held by private providers not government, and officials say the drive aligns with wider aims to ease youth financial insecurity and improve take-up.