820,000 people aged 18 to 24 urged to check if they could be owed £2,310 payment

People aged between 18 and 24 could be owed thousands of pounds, and are advised to check to see if they have the lump sum.

The sum comes from the huge number of Child Trust Fund accounts, with the government website advising that as of 5 April 2026 there are around 2.9 million such accounts open in the UK, and out of these about 827,000 are matured accounts that remain as a Child Trust Fund account.

In total, around 3,784,000 such accounts matured, of which around 2,958,000 were either claimed or were transferred automatically over into ISA accounts, leaving hundreds of thousands of accounts which have not yet been claimed.

These have an average value of £2,310, though this could be higher or lower depending on the account, meaning there is a large group of people who are not claiming or transferring money that they are entitled to.

While you might hear the words 'trust fund' and have images of helicopters, country houses, and 'gap yahs', this is not actually what it means in this context.

The accounts were available to children born between certain dates (Getty Stock)

The government website describes a Child Trust Fund as 'a long-term tax-free savings account for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011'.

People who open the account can add up to £9,000 a year into it, with the child taking control of it when they are 16, and having full access to it when they turn 18.

So that means that people born in 2008, who are turning 18 in 2026, will now be coming into their Child Trust Funds.

Gov.uk has previously issued appeals about the funds on social media, previously advising people in posts: "Contact your Child Trust Fund provider directly if you know who the account is with. You can also use the online tool on http://GOV.UK to find your Child Trust Fund provider."

The accounts were offered to children born between 2002 and 2011, but because they are no longer available to be opened they are 'dead', which mean that they can often have lower interest rates.

People could have thousands in their account (Getty Stock)

This means that someone who has a Child Trust Fund may find it to be a better option to switch over to a Junior ISA instead as these have higher interest rates.

A Child Trust Fund Account is not taxed, and also doesn't affect someone's ability to claim benefits.

Money expert Martin Lewis has also recently advised people that they could be missing out on money from their employer.

This is all to do with the workplace pension scheme.

Employers in the UK are required by law to enrol eligible staff into the workplace pension, to which they must also contribute.

This is done by a percentage of the employee's salary being paid into the pension pot before taxes are deducted, and the company's contribution also helping to grow the pension pot.

Lewis took to social media to warn against opting out of the pension scheme which some young people may do as they feel they need the money immediately to cover the rising cost of living.