{"id":122400,"date":"2026-06-30T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=122400"},"modified":"2026-06-30T11:16:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T10:16:43","slug":"nationwide-1-6-billion-unclaimed-cash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/nationwide-1-6-billion-unclaimed-cash\/","title":{"rendered":"Nationwide Steps In as $1.6 Billion in Unclaimed Cash Sits Untouched"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Banks join forces to track down young people owed \u00a31.6 billion in forgotten savings. Government taskforce brings together Nationwide, HSBC and other providers to reunite 750,000 account holders with matured Child Trust Funds worth \u00a32,200<\/strong> on average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 750,000 young adults across the country are sitting on unclaimed savings without realising it, money that was set aside for them before many of them could even walk. The Government has now stepped in with a coordinated effort to change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A newly formed taskforce<\/strong>, bringing together major banks and building societies, met for the first time this week with one goal: tracking down the owners of forgotten Child Trust Fund accounts<\/strong>. According to the Treasury, these accounts collectively hold around \u00a31.6 billion, money that has sat untouched for years while the young people it belongs to remain unaware it exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government and Banks Unite on Reunification Effort<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The taskforce includes Nationwide, HSBC UK, Sheffield Mutual, Yorkshire Building Society, Coutts, The Share Foundation, Forester, One Family, Pilling, The Coventry, Unity Mutual and Healthy Investments. Its purpose is to coordinate efforts across providers to trace young people and encourage them to claim their matured accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Child Trust Funds were long-term, tax-free savings <\/a>accounts<\/strong> opened for children born in the UK between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. The Government provided an initial deposit, and parents could then contribute up to \u00a39,000 a year, meaning some accounts could hold considerably more than the average figure once the child turned 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Account holders could take control of their fund from the age of 16, though withdrawals were only permitted once they reached 18. The oldest people eligible for a Child Trust Fund are turning 24 this year, meaning some of these accounts have lain dormant for six years already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rachel Blake<\/a>, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said too many young people were missing out simply because they did not know where their account was held or how to access it. According to Blake, the aim is to bring government and industry together, improving coordination so people can find and claim what is rightfully theirs. This builds on an earlier announcement that HMRC would write directly to eligible 21-year-olds whose accounts remain unclaimed, alerting them to the existence of their fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Banks Unite to Track Down \u00a31.6bn in Unclaimed Child Trust Fund Savings \u00a9Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why So Many Accounts Remain Untouched<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Around 6.3 million Child Trust Fund accounts were opened in total, the majority by parents and guardians, with the rest set up by HMRC itself. Many children received an initial \u00a3250 from the Government when their account was opened, with those from low-income families or in local authority care eligible for an additional \u00a3250.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As reported by JP Marks, HMRC’s Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary, many young people have accounts holding an average of \u00a32,200 simply waiting to be claimed. He pointed to the free “Find my Child Trust Fund” tool <\/a>on GOV.UK as the starting point for anyone who suspects they might have an account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accounts can go unclaimed for several reasons, including difficulty locating them, people forgetting they exist, or a deliberate decision to leave the funds invested rather than withdraw them straight away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Stocker<\/a>, Head of Savings at Nationwide, said the bank was pleased to be part of the taskforce and remained committed to working across the industry to build on progress made so far. Philip Kurtenbach <\/a>of HSBC UK echoed this, noting that a fund supporting young people as they start adult life can make a difference at a pivotal moment, and that the bank was supporting the taskforce to ensure funds reach those they were intended for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Millions of young people across the country may be sitting on savings they’ve completely forgotten about. A new taskforce involving major banks and building societies has just been launched to change that. The accounts, opened years ago, have quietly built up funds worth thousands of pounds. Now the race is on to reunite people with money that’s rightfully theirs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":122403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122400"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122421,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122400\/revisions\/122421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}