We're Helping 18 Year Olds To Receive A £1,000 Cash Boost!
With the Coronavirus taking central stage in the news day upon day, we have been slowly creeping up on a crucial day for thousands of teenagers. No it’s not GCSE or A-Level results day (but that is also important)! The government’s Child Trust Fund scheme is due to ‘mature’, meaning millions of eighteen-year olds will gain access to up to £1,000 in government provided money over the coming years.
Child Trust Funds were a free scheme available the parents of children born between 1st September 2002 and 2nd January 2011. The government sent vouchers out to parents as opening payments for the accounts, with increased contributions for children from families with low incomes. This money could then eventually be accessed when the child turned 18.
With the first set of children with Child Trust Funds due to turn 18 on 1st September, many teenagers are set to miss out on their Child Trust Fund money which has been accumulating interest for nearly two decades! HMRC estimates that over 700,000 of the Child Trust Fund accounts originally set up have been ‘lost’ or forgotten about, meaning a significant amount of the money provided by the government will remain unclaimed.
At the Just Finance Foundation, we are on a mission to:
1) Ensure everyone is reunited with the money in their CTF
2) Ensure that CTFs are used wisely in this difficult financial climate
To help achieve these goals, we have a quick ‘5 Step Guide’ to checking if you have a CTF and how you can claim your money. We also have our ‘Fund my Future’ quiz and, resources for schools and teachers. These outline how you can make the most out of your CTF money. Click here to read more and use our resources:
https://www.justfinancefoundation.org.uk/childtrustfund
Sarah Wallace, Programme Director of the Just Finance Foundation, said: “The Child Trust Fund scheme provides some much-needed optimism and positivity for teenagers in the UK, who are facing a bleak outlook in prospects at the moment”
“The money from these Child Trust Funds might be a welcome surprise for many teenagers and could provide the much needed cash to help someone through university, to buy a car or even as a starting block to help someone save for a house in the future”
