Teenagers urged to claim thousands from £9bn pot of money that most don’t know exists

Teenagers are being urged to claim thousands of pounds from a huge £9bn pot of money that most don’t even know exists.

Sounds quite mysterious, doesn’t it?

In 2005, the government set up Child Trust Funds, which allowed parents to put money away for their kids, in an effort to encourage them to save as they got older.

The government put in the first £250, and then parents took over, most adding to it as and when, with a maximum of £9,000 allowed in any one year.

And with the current cost of living crisis deepening every week, people are being encouraged to get in touch to claim their cash.

If you or your family remember which company provided your trust fund, you can go to them directly to make your claim.

However, if you’re not too sure, you can search for them on the government’s website here.

Teenagers aged 16 or over are able to take control of their fund, but it can only be accessed once a person reaches 18.

If you are too young to withdraw the money, your family can still keep adding to it until you are old enough to either take it out or invest it in another savings account.

Sadly for many of you reading, the scheme was only available for those young whipper-snappers out there born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. I’m sorry.

Speaking about the funds, the chief executive of HMRC Angela MacDonald said: “Teenagers could have a pot of money waiting for them worth thousands of pounds and not even realise it.

“We want to help you access your savings and the money you’re entitled to.

“To find out more search ‘Child Trust Fund’ on GOV.UK.”

And who knows, maybe you could use the money to become a millionaire, like Jacob Blank did.

He recently revealed that he managed to make $7,000 (£6,100) through a simple ‘side hustle’ when he was just 15 years old, selling old toys and items online.

In a clip posted to his TikTok, Blank, now 20, explained how he would take old items from family and friends and sell them on for a profit. 

“I leveraged up, offer eBay and Craigslist in order to do this,” he said.

“First I sold all my old toys that I didn’t want anymore, and once I ran out of my own stuff that I owned to sell, I reached out to my parents and I said ‘Hey, is there anything in the house that you want to get rid of?’ and I sold it and they let me keep all the profit.”