Child Trust Fund by Date of Birth: Who Got One, What the Government Paid In, and How to Find It
Born 1 September 2002 to 2 January 2011? You had a Child Trust Fund. What the government paid in by birth date, the age-7 top-up, and how to find it.
Every child born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 whose parents got Child Benefit had a Child Trust Fund. The government paid in £250 to £277 at the start (£50 from August 2010), £250 more for low-income families, and £250 or £500 at age 7 for children who turned 7 before 1 August 2010. The account matures at 18.
If you were born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 and your parents claimed Child Benefit, a Child Trust Fund was opened in your name. The government paid money in at the start, sometimes again at age 7, and the account matures on your 18th birthday. Many have never been claimed. Our Child Trust Fund checker shows, for any birth date, what the government paid in and when the account matures. It cannot show today's balance: only the provider knows that.
What the government paid in, by birth date
| Born | Starting voucher | Extra for low-income families | Age-7 payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sep 2002 to 5 Apr 2003 | £277 | £250 | £250 (£500 low income) |
| 6 Apr 2003 to 31 Jul 2003 | £268 | £250 | £250 (£500 low income) |
| 1 Aug 2003 to 5 Apr 2004 | £268 | £250 | None |
| 6 Apr 2004 to 5 Apr 2005 | £256 | £250 | None |
| 6 Apr 2005 to 31 Jul 2010 | £250 | £250 | None |
| 1 Aug 2010 to 2 Jan 2011 | £50 | £50 | None |
| From 3 Jan 2011 | No Child Trust Fund (Junior ISA instead) |
The starting voucher values come from HMRC's Child Trust Fund Statistical Report 2012, Table 2, which lists the voucher value by date of birth. Children born before April 2005 got slightly more because accounts only opened in 2005. The report was withdrawn from publication in 2022 but is still HMRC's own table.
The low-income extra went to children whose family was entitled to Child Tax Credit with household income under the tax credit threshold when Child Benefit was first paid, or who got Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (Child Trust Funds Act 2004, explanatory notes on section 9). HMRC's 2012 report says 36% of account holders had qualified for it.
The age-7 payment was added by SI 2009/475: £250 for every eligible child, £250 more for low-income families, and £500 for children in local authority care. It was then abolished by SI 2010/1894 for children turning 7 on or after 1 August 2010. In practice only children born from 1 September 2002 to 31 July 2003 received it, which is why sources disagree about who got it.
The same 2010 regulations cut the starting voucher to £50 (and the low-income extra to £50) for children whose Child Benefit started from August 2010. HMRC's table says "eligible between 1 August 2010 and 2 January 2011"; the regulations use 2 August and the date Child Benefit began, so babies born right at the start of August 2010 may fall on either side.
Two smaller payments are not in the table: children entitled to Disability Living Allowance got £100 a year (£200 at the highest care rate) for 2009-10 and 2010-11 (SI 2010/836), and children in care got different amounts.
What it might be worth now
This is where most headlines go wrong. The government money above is only the start. What an account holds today depends on:
- whether family or friends added money (up to £9,000 a year is allowed now),
- whether it was a cash account or one holding investments (accounts HMRC opened itself were "stakeholder" accounts),
- the provider's charges, and the returns over 18 years.
The checker lets you set an assumed growth rate to show what the government money alone could have grown to. Treat it as an illustration, not a statement of any account. No one can promise you a set amount, and you should never pay a company to find an account: the GOV.UK finder is free.
How to find your Child Trust Fund
- Use GOV.UK's free Find a Child Trust Fund service. Parents can use it, and so can anyone aged 16 or over looking for their own account.
- You will be asked for some personal details to match the account.
- HMRC tells you which provider holds the account; contact the provider to see the balance.
What happens at 16 and 18
- At 16 the young person can take control of the account, but cannot withdraw from it (GOV.UK).
- At 18 the account matures. They can take the money out or transfer it to an adult ISA. If they do nothing, the money stays in an account that no one else can access (GOV.UK: what happens when your child is 18).
Accounts mature between 2020 and 2029 as holders turn 18. The last ones, for babies born on 2 January 2011, mature on 2 January 2029.
How many are unclaimed
The National Audit Office's investigation into Child Trust Funds found that the government paid more than £2 billion into accounts for 6.3 million children. As at April 2021, about 320,000 accounts had matured and 145,000 of them were unclaimed, holding £394 million. Far more accounts have matured since, so if you were born in the range, it is worth checking.
Sources
GOV.UK, Child Trust Funds; HMRC, Child Trust Fund Statistical Report 2012; Child Trust Funds Act 2004 and SI 2009/475, SI 2010/836 and SI 2010/1894 on legislation.gov.uk; National Audit Office, Investigation into Child Trust Funds. All checked 18 October 2026.