760,000 Matured Child Trust Funds Worth £2,000 Each Remain Unclaimed, FCA Says

The Financial Conduct Authority has warned that hundreds of thousands of matured Child Trust Funds sit untouched, and that young adults can trace their money free of charge through HMRC’s official service.

Seven hundred and sixty thousand matured Child Trust Funds remain unclaimed, the FCA has announced, citing HMRC figures. Each account holds an average of £2,000 — meaning the total sitting uncollected runs to well over £1.5 billion nationally. The figures show a rise compared with the 670,000 unclaimed matured accounts recorded as of 5 April 2024, with later government data pointing to 758,000 unclaimed accounts as of 5 April 2025.

Child Trust Funds are tax-free savings accounts opened for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. The first accounts began reaching maturity in 2020, when holders turned 18. Once matured, the money stays in the account until the holder claims it or gives instructions — it doesn’t disappear.

For Kent residents, that means anyone currently aged around 18 to 23 could have a matured account they’ve never touched, especially if a parent or guardian opened it on their behalf years ago. There’s no Kent-specific breakdown of unclaimed funds in the available official data, but the national scale of the problem suggests thousands of young people across the county may be affected.

The FCA’s warning also flags a specific risk: some claimants have paid fee-charging private companies to trace accounts that could have been found at no cost. The government has repeatedly pushed back on this. HMRC’s free online tracing tool is available to anyone aged 16 or over, and to parents or guardians checking on a child’s fund.

Don’t pay a middleman. That’s the blunt message from both the FCA and HMRC.

Key information

• Use HMRC’s free online tracing tool at GOV.UK — search “find your Child Trust Fund” — available to those aged 16 or over
• Parents and guardians can also use the tool to trace a fund held in a child’s name
• You do not need to pay a private company to trace or claim a Child Trust Fund
• Accounts mature at age 18 and remain accessible — the money does not expire or disappear