Government writing to 21-year-olds telling them where Child Trust Funds are and they could be worth £2,200 – how to check your letter is genuine

Between 2002 and 2011, most children born in the UK were given £100s in tax-free savings by the state, which were placed in a Child Trust Fund (CTF). Parents and guardians could then add more on top. The money was set to become accessible when the child turned 18 – giving them some cash to start their adult life.

But as of April 2026, over 750,000 of these CTFs are unclaimed, likely holding more than a collective £1.6 million on average.

Note: For tens of thousands of children with special educational needs or disabilities, their CTF cash can't be accessed without a costly process that often outweighs the amount saved. This is something MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis, and others, continue to campaign to change.

Thousands of young people will receive letters about their CTFs

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) says it's writing to ALL 21-year-olds whose CTF remains unclaimed, reminding them they have an account and encouraging them to claim their savings.

The Government says it's specifically targeting 21-year-olds because it believes they'll have had some interaction with HMRC by that age, and therefore their address and contact information is most likely to be correct. The Government couldn't tell us exactly how many people it will reach out to, but confirmed it would be "many thousands".

Letters are being sent from now in stages, though HMRC hasn't given us a full timeline yet.

How to tell if your HMRC letter is genuine

We're concerned that scammers could replicate these letters from HMRC. Here's what to watch out for:

• Firstly, look out for a physical letter in the post. HMRC will ONLY send you a hard copy letter about your CTF. This means that if you receive an email, text or phone call claiming to be about CTFs, it's a SCAM.

• If you're urged to provide personal and/or financial details or make a payment, it's likely a SCAM. If in any doubt, don't respond directly – contact HMRC using its official channels

• Still not sure the contact you've received is legitimate? Report it to HMRC. You can do this by:
  - forwarding suspicious texts to 60599;
  - forwarding suspicious emails to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk;
  - visiting GOV.UK to report a phone call you have received.

We've more info below if you think you may have been scammed.

Received a letter from HMRC? It will tell you where your CTF is saved

If you've received a letter from HMRC, it will include the following:

• Your CTF provider, and

• How to contact them.

Warning: You should always contact the CTF provider directly using contact information listed on their website. Don't contact HMRC to access your funds. You also don't need to wait for HMRC to contact you about your CTF as it's free and easy to locate yourself – see our full steps below.

Didn't receive a letter? You may still have a CTF – here's how to check

To reclaim a CTF, you'll need to know which bank, building society or investment provider it's held with. If you already know this, you can simply contact it directly.

If you don't already know and you're 16 or older, you can follow the steps below yourself (though you can't access the funds until you're 18). If you're a parent or guardian, you can also follow the steps below on behalf of your child – you'll need their 'unique reference number' (check for it on any old paperwork related to CTFs) or their National Insurance number – if you don't have these details, you'll need to apply by post.

1. Go to HMRC's tool. You'll need to sign in with either a Government Gateway ID or the newer GOV.UK One Login.

2. Fill in your (or your child's) details. Including name, address, date of birth, phone number and National Insurance number.

3. You should hear from HMRC within three weeks. It should tell you which provider holds the account. If HMRC needs more information, it'll contact you by phone or post.

4. Contact the CTF provider. It can reunite you with the account.

5. Found the account? Here's how to max your fund's interest.

You DON'T need to use a claims firm

Some firms offer to trace lost CTFs and charge £100s for the service, targeting teens and young adults with ads online and via social media. But HMRC has warned that using a third-party firm is likely to take longer and that you will still need to provide the same information to the claims firm that you'd need to complete the search yourself.

In 2025, the advertising watchdog banned misleading CTF ads from TikTok that we'd reported to it, which claimed savers had "nothing to lose" despite the firm charging possibly £100s for its services.

Claims firms aren't illegal, and can even be helpful in more complex cases where you need extra support – but they tend to cost a fortune and you can easily do this yourself for free.

What to do if you think you've been scammed

If you think you've been scammed, we've full help in our 30+ ways to stop scams guide, but in brief, end all further communication with the scammer immediately, then:

• Call the 159 hotline if you've provided card or bank details. This will connect you directly with your bank. You should then let your bank know about any money you've lost and ask it to cancel any payments that haven't yet been made.
  
  Alternatively, you can call your bank directly. Make sure you find your bank's contact details independently – for example, by calling the phone number on the back of your card or on your bank statement.

• Report the scam. You can do this via the Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud) website or by calling 0300 123 2040 (England, Wales or Northern Ireland). If you're in Scotland, report a scam via the Consumeradvice website or call it on 0808 164 6000. You can also report scams to Police Scotland on 101.
  
  

  Another option (UK-wide), if it's an online scam, is to report it to the Advertising Standards Authority. Do this in addition to reporting it to Report Fraud or Consumeradvice.

• Use Section 75 if you've been scammed when paying for something costing more than £100 on a credit card. If you used a debit card or spent exactly £100 or less on a credit card, you could try to claim your money back under the chargeback scheme instead.
  
  Unfortunately, if you've transferred the money using sites such as Moneygram, PayPal or Western Union, you generally can't get your money back once you've handed it over.

• For more help and support, contact Citizens Advice (England and Wales), Citizens Advice Scotland, or NIdirect (Northern Ireland). Alternatively, call the Financial Conduct Authority's helpline on 0800 111 6768 (UK-wide).