HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is urging young people who have yet to claim their Child Trust Fund to do so during National Apprenticeship Week (9-15 February).
While an apprenticeship can provide a good start to life in work, latest figures show 758,000 young people could be missing out on cash as they have yet to claim the savings in their Child Trust Fund account.
Child Trust Funds are long term, tax-free savings accounts which were set up for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 with an initial government deposit of at least £250.
Young people can take control of their account at 16, but once they turn 18 years old the account matures and they can decide whether they want to withdraw the money or re-invest it.
With hundreds of thousands of apprentices under the age of 24 across the UK, a Child Trust Fund worth on average £2,242 each will give them a financial head start.
Hope Kerr-Williams, a 22 year-old apprentice, claimed her Child Trust Fund at 18.
Hope found out about her Child Trust Fund account when she was a teenager. Her parents had told her where it was invested and that they had paid an inheritance into it on her behalf. It was worth £5,000 by the time she claimed it and she used it to help pay for her expenses when she started university.
Hope said:
I was counting down the days until I could claim my Child Trust Fund as I was planning my move to Sheffield. I used it to put a deposit down on my flat, pay the first months’ rent and buy essentials for my accommodation, which all adds up when you have to buy everything at once. I also bought a laptop for my course.
Hope says she doesn’t know how she would have managed costs without it and encouraged her friends to claim theirs.
Having my Child Trust Fund account saved me from going into an overdraft or borrowing money when I had a lot of expenses at the start of university. It gave me independence and a great start to adult life, which I’m still grateful for.
Hope graduated last summer and joined HMRC in November. She is one of 870 apprentices currently with HMRC and is doing a Level 4 PR and Communications Apprenticeship.
I’m enjoying applying what I’ve learnt to my job. Apprenticeships allow you to work, study and gain experience while earning a qualification that’s directly relevant to your role. I’d recommend an apprenticeship to anyone.
For young people who know where their Child Trust Fund is held, they can contact the savings provider directly.
For those who don’t know where their Child Trust Fund is, the quickest and easiest way to locate it, is to use the GOV.UK Child Trust Fund locator tool.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Chief Customer Officer, said:
Whether young people are on an apprenticeship, starting their first job, or making plans to go to university, a Child Trust Fund can make all the difference. Find yours today by searching ‘find my Child Trust Fund’ on GOV.UK
It is quick and easy to search for a Child Trust Fund account online. To make a request, young people just need provide their National Insurance number and Date of Birth.
For those who don’t have their National Insurance number to hand, young people can download the HMRC app to view it and save it in their digital wallet.
Nearly 1.7 million young people under the age of 25 have downloaded the HMRCapp. While National Insurance number views is one of the most popular functions for young people using the HMRC app, they can also find other essential information at their fingertips - including Pay As You Earn (PAYE) information, their tax code as well as employment history.
More information about Child Trust Funds can be found on GOV.UK.
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