Child Trust Fund FAQs

Child trust funds (CTFs) are savings accounts for children. The government gave all eligible children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 a voucher to open a child trust fund, worth on average £250 (although some people received a different amount).

The money in child trust funds can’t be withdrawn until the child turns 18. They are tax-exempt, meaning there’s no tax to pay on any money that the child trust fund makes.

You can’t open a child trust fund anymore, but you can open a junior ISA instead.

If you were born as a UK citizen between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, it is likely you have a child trust fund in your name, even if your parents aren’t aware of it.

The government opened child trust funds on behalf of children if their parents didn’t do so before they turned one. If you think you might have a child trust fund that was opened for you by the government, here’s how you can find it.

Use our tracing tool to find out which company now holds your child trust fund.

If you think you might have a child trust fund, you can find out using our tracing tool.

If your parents don’t remember which company they opened it with, or if the government opened it on your behalf, you will need to contact HMRC to find out where it is.

If your child trust fund is held by OneFamily and you’re 16 or over, you can register for an online account to see your balance. If you’re not yet 16, your parents can do this on your behalf. You will need your National Insurance number to do this.

No. Please do not pay anyone to find your child trust fund for you or agree to pay a company a percentage of your child trust fund in return for them tracking it down.

Instead, use our free child trust fund tracker tool or visit Gretel - a company that helps people find forgotten money, not just child trust funds. Gretel doesn't charge for this search.

The main difference between “cash” and “stocks and shares” child trust funds is how they make money.
Money you put into a stocks and shares child trust fund goes into a fund that’s invested in the stock market. The value goes up or down depending on how the fund performs.

With a cash child trust fund, your money isn’t invested. It grows by earning interest, like a current account does.

Stocks and shares accounts are usually considered a good option if you’re investing for a while, as there’s better potential for your money to grow than there is with cash and, over time, drops in the stock market tend to even out, although this isn’t guaranteed.

However, there is a risk that the value could go down and you could end up with less money than you or the government has put in. This is normal for stocks and shares.

OneFamily’s Child Trust Fund invests in stocks and shares.

You can find out more about the differences between investing and saving in our guide: Is it better to save or invest your money?

When we talk about risk in investing, it’s the risk that you won’t be able to buy as much with your money when you decide to withdraw it compared to when you first invested it.

This could be because the cost of living has grown by more than your investments, or because falls in the stock market have left you with less money than you started with.

You can find out more about investment risk in our interview with a fund manager.

When the government child trust fund scheme ended in 2011, it was replaced by junior ISAs.

Junior ISAs are also tax-exempt savings products with a £9,000 per tax year investment limit. However, the government doesn’t put money into junior ISAs, which it did with child trust funds.

You can open a OneFamily Junior ISA for an eligible child under 16 who you have parental responsibility for.

If you already have a child trust fund, you can transfer this to a junior ISA.

There are three reasons why you and your peers may have different amounts in your child trust funds when you reach 18.

• You may have started with a different amount. The scheme changed over time so those born later generally were given less. How much money your family had also affected how much the government gave you.
• Friends or family members may have added additional money.
• There are many different types of child trust funds. Your parents will have chosen a fund or this may have been allocated on your behalf. Different funds performed differently, meaning some went up in value more than others.