Child Trust Funds (CTFs) - Frequently Asked Questions

From managing and tracking your account, to general information and transfer options, we explore the most common questions around your CTF.

General information

What is a Child Trust Fund?

Does my child have a CTF?

How do I find the CTF?

We’re the UK’s largest CTF provider, so if you’re unsure where your child’s CTF is, then there’s a good chance that we look after it. Head to our How to trace a lost CTF page and use the drop-down menu at the bottom of the page.

If you can’t see it on there, then you can register your details with us and we will provide you with information on how to locate your child’s CTF at no charge.

What is the difference between a stocks & shares and cash CTF?

Cash CTFs hold onto your cash and pay interest on the total amount. A stocks & shares CTF invests the money in different funds and company shares on the stock market with the aim of gaining better returns when compared to cash products.

Our CTF invests in stocks and shares. Stocks and shares are usually considered a good option if investing over the longer term as this helps even out fluctuations in the stock market and provides good growth potential. However, this comes with a degree of risk. The value of stocks and shares can go down as well as up. Whilst this is normal for stocks and shares it does mean that your child could get back less than is paid in.

What happens when my child turns 18?

What is the alternative to a Child Trust Fund?

Tracking your account

What CTF do I have?

How do I find the account number?

How do I find out how much is in the account?

If you sign up for Online Account Management, you can check the current value of the account any time you want. We‘ll also send you a statement just before the child’s 5th, 11th, 16th, 17th and 18th birthdays. If any contributions have been made into the account in the previous statement year, you will also receive an annual statement.

Click here to register for Online Account Management.

How can I see how the fund is performing?

Can I withdraw the funds early?

Santander CTF – why has the fund name changed?

Santander, who manage the fund, decided to rename the Balanced International Tracker fund. It is now called International Multi Index fund. This is a better description of how the fund works. Santander also renamed the share class your CTF uses to make things clearer. It is now called CTF accumulation.

These changes will not impact your investment. The fund will:

Continue investing in the same way
Have the same annual management charge of 1.5%
Have the same risk profile

The changes do not affect the product Terms & Conditions.

Managing the Child Trust Fund Account

What is a Registered Contact (RC)?

How do I change the Registered Contact on the account?

To become the RC for a CTF, you must be 16 or over and have parental responsibility for the child. There can only be one RC at any time, so the current RC must agree you can take over.

To make a change, you’ll need to ask the current RC to call or write to us and we’ll send them the relevant forms. We'll also send a booklet with important information about the CTF. You'll need to read it before agreeing to become the RC.
Please call us on 0344 8 920 920* if you want to be the RC because of an adoption, a court order, or the absence or death of the existing RC.

If you are the child and over 16, you can become the RC for your account, without the permission of the current RC. To do this, call or write to us and ask for a Change of Registered Contact form. However, you cannot access the money in the account until you turn 18.

Here's our address:
FREEPOST OneFamily (Please note, this is the full address)

How can I claim a Child Trust Fund on behalf of a vulnerable child?

Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, so it’s important that we protect all of them – especially those who are most vulnerable.

We follow FCA guidance and have robust processes in place to ensure that the proceeds from maturing Child Trust Funds held by vulnerable customers go to the right person.

Where a young person is unable to manage their own affairs, they will need extra support from their parent or guardian and we would ask that you get in touch with us so that we can help you. We’ll look at each situation on a case by case basis and will do our very best make the process as smooth as possible for you.

For further information please telephone 0333 2205067

How do I pay into the Child Trust Fund?

There are several ways to pay into the account:

You can pay into the Child Trust Fund account either by setting up a monthly Direct Debit or by making a one-off payment. This can be done via this link: Pay into a Child Trust Fund
You can send a cheque made payable to OneFamily or your child to FREEPOST ONEFAMILY (please note, this is the full address). Please ensure on the reverse side of the cheque you write the child’s name, date of birth, account number and your name and address.
You can also pay into the account using online banking. Use the account number as a reference to make one -off payments or set up a standing order using our bank details below.

Type of account	Sort Code	Account Number
Child Trust Fund with account number beginning with a “C”	60-00-01	36238007
Child Trust Fund with account number beginning with a “K”	60-00-01	39495876
Child Trust Fund with account number beginning with a “0”	20-37-39	80017310

How can I amend my payments into the CTF?

If you'd like to change the amount of an existing CTF direct debit payment, just click here.

If you'd like to change the bank account for your direct debit, please call us on 0344 8 920 920*. Or if you prefer, you can complete a new Direct Debit Mandate form and post it to:

FREEPOST OneFamily (Please note, this is the full address)

Download a Global Investment Child Trust Fund and Ethical Child Trust Fund Direct Debit Mandate »

How can friends & family pay into the account?

What if I have forgotten my account login details?

Transferring another CTF to OneFamily

Why invest with OneFamily?

How do I transfer another Child Trust Fund or Junior ISA to OneFamily?

It's easy to transfer into our Child Trust Fund or Junior ISA. We accept transfers from cash or stocks and shares Child Trust Funds or Junior ISAs. For Junior ISA transfers, your Junior ISA must have a value of at least £500.

We won’t charge you for transferring but do check with your current provider in case they do.

Click here to transfer to our CTF or click here to transfer to our Junior ISA.

*We're open 9am-7pm Monday- Froiday and 9am-1pm and Saturday. We might record your call to help improve our training and for security purposes. We hope you don't mind. Calls are normally free from UK landlines and from mobile phones. Calls may be monitored and recorded for training purposes. Calls to 0344 numbers are charged at local rate and will normally be part of any inclusive minutes provided with phone packages, even when calling from a mobile. The actual cost will depend on your provider's tariff. For more information please contact your provider.

Back to Child Trust Fund

Find out more