Leeds student 'blown away' to find £2k in Child Trust Fund - as £130m goes unclaimed in Yorkshire
A student from Leeds was stunned to discover more than £2,000 sitting unclaimed in a Child Trust Fund - and is now urging other young people to find out if they’re owed money.
Tayo Olutunde, 21, first heard about the scheme as he scrolled through social media, not realising that he already had an account set up in his name.
But because he had changed his address a number of times since the Child Trust Fund (CTF) had been created, he struggled to find a way to access the cash.
“When I first heard about people realising they had thousands in their accounts, I thought: this can’t be real,” he said. “Immediately after that I did a bit of research online.”
Eventually, Tayo came across The Share Foundation - a charity that helps young people locate and unlock their funds through a free HMRC-linked search tool - and was able to access the account.
“I was blown away,” he said. “I was thinking about all the things I’d be able to do with the money. I thought I might as well go away with my friends, so we had this crazy holiday in Milan. That never would have happened if I hadn’t found out about the CTF.”
Tayo had around £2,400 in his account – and used the leftover cash from his holiday for investments.
It comes as The Share Foundation revealed that more than 65,000 young people in Yorkshire and the Humber have unclaimed CTFs - with £130 million sitting untouched in the region. Nearly half of those accounts belong to young people from low-income backgrounds, who may be unaware the money exists.
Tayo, who is currently on a university placement year working as an analyst and statistician, said that the funds could be life-changing for people at a time when many are struggling with the rising cost of living.
“If your parents have put in that much effort, it’s really important to get access to it,” explained Tayo. “Especially in today’s age when it's getting harder and harder to buy a house.”
The Share Foundation is calling on the government to automatically release unclaimed CTF funds once account holders turn 21 - with proposals backed by cross-party MPs including former Labour Education Secretary Ruth Kelly.
Gavin Oldham OBE, Chair of Trustees at The Share Foundation, said: “Today, child poverty is becoming an increasingly pressing issue.
“To attempt to break the cycle of deprivation, we have spent the last 12 years creating starter capital accounts for young people in care and helping those from low-income backgrounds access Child Trust Funds they weren’t even aware existed.
“There is still much work to be done, but these efforts are a starting point in providing essential support at the time families need it most.”
To date, The Share Foundation has matched more than 85,000 young people with their Child Trust Funds, recovering over £165 million for young adult account owners.