Child Trust Fund

According to HMRC data the success of the Child Trust Fund (CTF), the tax exempt long-term savings and investment account for children born on or after 1 September 2002, continues to grow. The statistics published by HMRC show:

• 97% of eligible parents are aware of the Child Trust Fund
• around 3/4 of parents continue to open accounts for their children within the first year
• there has been a small upturn in the number of accounts opened by parents in the first year.

Where parents do not open a CTF account within one year, HMRC will automatically open an account for the child. The Economic Secretary to the Treasury Ian Pearson said: “The third year of the Child Trust Fund has continued to build firmly on the success of the founding years, but we still need to do more. This is why I am writing today to all MPs to encourage them to further raise the profile of the Child Trust Fund in their constituencies and to direct parents towards the help available to them in opening and engaging with their children’s accounts.” Source: Treasury press release Statistics