More than 750,000 young people across the UK could be missing out on savings worth an average of £2,200.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is launching a fresh campaign to reunite account holders with money held in forgotten Child Trust Fund accounts.
HMRC said hundreds of thousands of Child Trust Fund accounts remain untouched, with eligible account holders now aged between 15 and 23 unaware the savings exist.
The tax authority has launched a renewed drive to help young people trace and access the accounts, which were created under a previous Labour Government savings scheme.
JP Marks, HMRC’s chief executive and First Permanent Secretary, said: “Many young people have Child Trust Fund accounts with an average of £2,200 waiting to be claimed. This is their money, and we want to do all we can to help them find and access it.”
Child Trust Funds are tax-free savings accounts that were created for every child born between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011.
The Government deposited at least £250 into every account, while children from lower-income families received £500, followed by a further £250 when they reached the age of seven.
Parents and guardians were also able to contribute up to £1,200 each year to the accounts before the scheme closed.
HMRC urges 750,000 young people to claim forgotten Child Trust Fund savings worth £2,200 on average
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GETTYAround 6.3 million Child Trust Fund accounts were opened before they were replaced by Junior ISAs.
The Government contributed around £3.3billion to the scheme, while families added a further £2.5billion.
The money becomes available once the account holder turns 18, although they can take control of the account from the age of 16.
HMRC said many accounts have gone unclaimed because families have moved home, misplaced paperwork or never told their children the savings existed.
The tax authority said people can trace their Child Trust Fund free of charge using the online “Find my Child Trust Fund” service on GOV.UK
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GETTYThe online tracing service takes around five minutes to complete and requires users to provide their name, date of birth, address and National Insurance number.
HMRC said it will usually respond within three weeks with details of the bank or building society holding the account.
Parents and guardians can also search on behalf of their children using the child’s National Insurance number or the unique reference number shown on previous Child Trust Fund documents.
More than 563,000 people used the tracing service during the 12 months to August 2025.
Mr Marks said: “If you think you have one, you can use the ‘Find my Child Trust Fund’ tool on GOV.UK to find out where your account is held.”
HMRC has warned that it will only contact people about their Child Trust Fund by post.
The department said any email, text message or phone call claiming to relate to a Child Trust Fund should be treated as a scam.
Anyone who receives a suspicious text message can forward it to 60599 and report it through GOV.UK.
HMRC has also warned people not to pay companies offering to trace Child Trust Fund accounts on their behalf because the official tracing service is available free of charge.
Some firms charge hundreds of pounds for tracing accounts despite the Government providing the service at no cost.
The warning comes after the Advertising Standards Authority banned a series of Child Trust Fund advertisements on TikTok in 2025 following complaints that they misleadingly claimed users had “nothing to lose”.