728,000 Brits born between these dates are owed an average of £2000 each
728,000 Brits born between these dates are owed an average of £2000 each
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Thousands of Brits could be eligible for a welcome payout, thanks to a government-backed scheme many don’t know about. The brainchild of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Child Trust Funds (CTFs) were designed to give families a helping hand with building a nest egg for their children and promote good savings habits from a young age.
![[Teenage boy putting coins in piggy bank- money saving concept]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-1742829549.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
More than six million CTFs were issued, with an average value of around £2,000 each. The main problem however, is that 728,000 account holders are unaware of their existence. Since the programme ended in 2011, a total of £1.4 billion has remained unclaimed, the majority of which comes from low income recipients who are owed roughly £2,900 on average.
Could you be entitled to some of that lost or forgotten cash? Here’s everything you need to know. A Child Trust Fund is a special savings account for those born in the UK between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011 whose parents were on Child Benefit.
As part of the scheme, the government put £250-£500 into long-term, tax-free savings accounts for each child at birth, but some got a further £250-£500 when they turned seven. While families and carers received vouchers to set up an account shortly after they had a baby, if they didn’t claim within a year, the government allocated one automatically. That means if you’re currently aged 14 to 22, you could have a CTF.
