Welcome
You’re about to create an online account for your child’s Child Trust Fund (CTF).
You’ll be able to see how much is in the CTF and how it’s performing, manage your personal details and make payments quickly and easily.
Keep scrolling to find out how your child will access their money.
What happens next?
From the age of 16, your child can take over managing their CTF by creating their own online account.
At 18, they’ll be able to withdraw or invest their money.
Keep scrolling to find out what they could do with their money when they turn 18.
How can they make the most of their CTF money?
When your teen turns 18, they'll be able to withdraw their money or easily move it into one of our stocks and shares products to invest for their future.
Investing could be a good option if they want to make the most of their CTF money but think they might be tempted to spend it straight away!
Keep scrolling for a quick overview of their investment options.
Stocks and Shares ISA – to invest for their future
They could move some, or all, of the money into our Stocks and Shares ISA where it will be invested in a fund on their behalf.
People choose to do this if they want to hopefully grow their money for something in the future, like university, driving lessons or a business idea.
Lifetime ISA – to buy their first home
Our Lifetime ISA comes with a 25% government bonus – they can pay in up to £4,000 a year and HMRC will top this up by 25%!
But they should only move money into this product if they plan to use it to buy their first home, otherwise they’ll be charged a fee when they withdraw the money for something else (unless they withdraw it after they turn 60).
Investing in stocks and shares
Both of these products are stocks and shares products, which means the value of the fund they invest in is likely to go up and down over time.
This is normal, but just so you're aware it does mean there’s a risk that the value might be lower at the time they decide to withdraw the money.
Remember it’s ok to do nothing
There’s no pressure for your teenager to decide immediately how to make the most of their CTF, even after they turn 18.
The most important thing is that the money is there when it’s needed. That’s why we make it easy to move it into an adult account while they weigh up their options.