Are you Missing Money?

Gavin Oldham OBE, a long-standing lay member of the General Synod, says that many young people don't know they have an individual Child Trust Fund account, and that there is a free way to access them.

Gavin says:

"Based on the last CofE census, I estimate there are 20,654 young people of this age in your Diocesan population. Almost all of these young people will have an individual Child Trust Fund account, typically worth over £1,000.

"They are allowed to take control of their account from age 16, and to access their funds from age 18 (the oldest will reach this age on 1 September). However, one third of these accounts, although being safely administered with account providers, are lost to their young owners and their families, as ‘Addressee Gone Away’: an estimated 6,885 in your Diocese alone.

"The money in their Child Trust Fund accounts, plus free life skills courses which we provide alongside the search process, will make a real difference for their start to adult life.

"The Share Foundation, the registered charity I established in 2005 which runs the Department for Education’s Child Trust Fund and Junior ISA schemes for looked-after young people throughout the UK, has worked closely with HM Revenue & Customs to set up a recovery process by which these young people can find their account.

"There are no fees or charges applied at any stage to the young people or their accounts - the service is entirely voluntary, and one of the major account providers, RBS, is helping to cover costs.

To find out more go to www.sharefound.org/missingmoney and the accompanying registration page, findCTF.sharefound.org.

Gavin adds:

"It’s really important to get the word out, and this communication is therefore a social action which the Church can do easily on their behalf: in the course of which, we will provide an insight for these young people into the care that the Christian Church has for the wider community."

You can also find out more by contacting Gavin via gavin.oldham@sharefound.org.