If you were born as a UK resident between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, the government will very likely have given you a child trust fund voucher.
The voucher will have been worth anywhere from £50 to £500, depending on when you were born and your family’s circumstances.
Your parents could use the voucher to choose a child trust fund to open for you, but if they didn’t do this within a year the voucher expired and the government opened one for you.
Child trust funds opened by the government are called "revenue allocated accounts".
If this happened, the government will have chosen a provider for you and it could be a different to the provider to your siblings’ child trust funds.
Why do my parents not know about my child trust fund?
Having a newborn baby is hard work and at this chaotic time it would have been easy to miss a letter from the government about child trust funds. Your parents might have moved house and missed the letter or it might simply have been lost in the post.
Whether or not your parents were aware, if you think you might have a child trust fund there’s a simple process to follow to find and access it.
How to find your child trust fund - a step-by-step guide
1. Go to HMRC's website
Head to the HMRC’s “Find a Child Trust Fund” page and fill out the form.
You’ll need:
- The child's National Insurance Number
- Your Government Gateway user ID and password. If you don’t already have one, you can create one when you try to sign in.
You can also send the form back in the post if you prefer. HMRC will explain this option and what you need to send.
2. Receive the info you need from HMRC
HMRC will then send you a letter with a unique reference number (URN), the name of the company the child trust fund is with and a contact number for that company.
If the child trust fund is with OneFamily, is in your name and you’re over 16, you can then simply register for a OneFamily online account. You do need to know your National Insurance Number to do this!
3. Contact the company
If you’re the parent of the child trust fund holder, you’ll need to give the company a call.
If the child trust fund is in your name but you’re not yet 16, your parent will need to call on your behalf.
What you’ll need:
- The unique reference number that HMRC gave you
- The address you were living at when you/your child was born, and any address up until your/their first birthday. If you’ve forgotten, don’t worry, there are tools you can use to help find your old address such as a postcode finder.
4. Take ownership of the child trust fund
Different providers have different processes, but if the child trust fund is with OneFamily, we’ll post you a form which you’ll need to complete and post back to us.
After we’ve received your form, we’ll then be able to link you and your child trust fund.
We’ll send you another letter with all the account details so you can register for an online account.
And that’s it! You should now receive emails from your provider letting you know what happens next and explaining your options for when the child trust fund matures.
