Savings windfalls worth £2,242 on average waiting for 758,000 young adults

Around three-quarters of a million young adults are sitting on unclaimed pots of cash, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures.

Some 758,000 18 to 23-year-olds have yet to claim their matured child trust fund, worth £2,242 on average each.

Child trust funds are long term, tax-free savings accounts which were set up for children born between September 1 2002 and January 2 2011 with an initial Government deposit of at least £250.

Young people can take control of their account at 16, but once the account holder turns 18 it matures, and they can decide whether they want to withdraw the money or re-invest it.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s second permanent secretary and deputy chief executive, said: “If you’re between 18 and 23, you could be sat on a savings payout and not even realise it. Just search ‘find my child trust fund’ on gov.uk to find your savings account today.”

The savings accounts are not held by Government but in banks, building societies or other savings providers.

If young people or their parents or guardians already know who their child trust fund provider is, they can contact them directly.

For those who do not know where theirs is, they can use the gov.uk locator tool to find it quickly and for free.

More than 563,000 young people went online to find their account in the 12 months to the end of August 2025, HMRC said.

Shelley Doorey-Williams, chief executive of the London Foundation for Banking and Finance said: “With an estimated average of £2,242 waiting in unclaimed accounts, this is real money at a crucial time, that can help young people right at the start of their financial lives.”

Charlene Young, a senior pensions and savings expert at AJ Bell, said once young adults had tracked down their child trust fund “it’s up to you what you do with it. You can transfer it to an adult Isa in your own name or withdraw the money. Until then your money will just sit in an account that no-one else has access to”.

She added: “Anything you transfer to an adult Isa at maturity will not count towards your annual Isa allowance, which is £20,000 for over-18s.”

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Child trust funds were meant to sow the seeds for a lifetime of saving and investing, but while investments have flourished, in far too many cases, these grown-up children are yet to reap the rewards. Over three-quarters of a million have yet to claim their matured child trust fund, worth £2,242 on average each.

“It’s not a huge shock. Of the total 6.3 million accounts, 1.8 million of them were opened by HMRC, so some parents never knew where the money went, and over the years an awful lot of people have lost track of them too.

“In the intervening years, the stock market investments have grown impressively but this money risks just sitting untouched, while young people struggle along without it.”