Your Child Trust Fund, with your trusted provider

Child Trust Funds are savings accounts for children. The Government introduce these to help parents save for their child’s future. After your 18th birthday your Child Trust Fund turns into a Matured Child Trust Fund. At Foresters we call this a Matured CTF ISA (it’s all the same thing).

If you were born between 1st September 2002 and 2nd January 2011, then yes it is likely you have a Child Trust Fund.

Find my CTF

No, you have three options of what you can do with your money, keep building your savings pot by moving it into an ISA, empty your saving pot by withdrawing all the money, or a bit of both - save some, spend some. 

Moving the money to your bank account isn’t the only way to save. If you move the money into an ISA means you continue to invest. When you invest, the longer you save, the better chance you have of growth compared to saving in cash. If you have a certain goal in mind like buying a house, or starting your own business, investing might be right for you. Find out more

If you choose to withdraw all of the money, we can only make this payment into a bank account held in your name.

Everyone who has a Child Trust Fund will have a different amount. There are generally three reasons for this:

• You may have started with different amounts. The voucher amount from the government changed over the years and would have been affected by how much money your family had
• If your family and friends added more money 
• Any investment growth, as your CTF is invested in stocks and shares this means the value of your Plan can fall as well as rise. 

Login to MyPlans to see how much you have

Your Foresters CTF is invested in stocks and shares. This means the value of your CTF will go up and down depending on the market. This means there will be times when your money is less than you last saw, but there will also be days where it’s higher too!

Create your MyPlans account to take your next steps > 

When you login click the ‘Next Steps’ button. Then you’ll be able to tell us how much money you want to withdraw and if you want to continue to save any. 

 

Once we have received all the necessary documents from yourself to perform the required security checks, we aim to process withdrawals within 5 working days. It can then take 3-5 working days for the money to reach your account. It doesn't matter how much money you want to take out, we need to make sure we pay only you as the Planholder.

Your MyPlans account will show the progress of your withdrawal and ask you to update any documents (if needed) to verify your identity.

You can transfer your matured Child Trust Fund to another provider as long as they accept transfers from matured Child Trust Funds.

To make a transfer to another provider, you will need to contact your new provider first so they can start the transfer process. 

Before submitting the transfer request to your new provider, please ensure your personal details with us are up to date, as the information you provide will need to match with your new provider. You can check your Plan details and update, if necessary, online with MyPlans or by contacting Customer Services.

Transferring your matured CTF to another provider means you will no longer be a Foresters member and will no longer have access to your member benefits. We do not charge for any transfers to other providers.

An ISA, short for Individual Savings Account, lets you save for your future (up to £20k every tax year) without having to pay tax on additional money you gain. Watch our video below for the key facts. 

Saving in an Individual Savings Account (ISA) lets you save towards your future without having to pay tax. ISAs come in different forms, at Foresters we have a Stocks and Shares ISA where you invest your money, this gives it a better chance to grown the longer you save. 

Oh, and we have a Stocks and Shares Lifetime ISA so you can save towards your first home and the Government will add some money to help (every pound is a step closer to moving out!). 

So, if you want to save for your future, moving your Child Trust Fund money into an ISA could be a great start to being a money pro - carry on saving.

You don't have to move every penny from your Child Trust Fund to an ISA. You can take a bit to help you in the here and now, and leave the rest investing in an ISA for your future – the best of both worlds.

Yes! You can carry on investing in your future without having to compromise what you believe in. This is an ISA specifically for Islamic beliefs. A Shariah ISA has the same rules as a normal ISA, but the way your money is invested is checked by a Shariah advisory board to make sure investment decisions follow Islamic guidelines.

See our Shariah ISA

No, the money in the account belongs to the Child Trust Fund holder (Planholder). At age 18 the Planholder will become responsible for managing the Child Trust Fund, and making their choice. If the Planholder decides to withdraw the money, this should be the Planholder's choice, and the money can only be sent to an account in their name.

Any contributions made to the CTF by family and friends are a gift and cannot be reclaimed.

If you are the parent you can find out more about what happens next for you >

You usually get sent your National Insurance number in the post from HMRC just before your 16th birthday. You can also find this on any pay slips, P60 or tax letters.

If you don’t have any of these, you can use the Gov.uk NI number finder

The money from your Child Trust Fund can be moved into a Stocks and Shares ISA with Foresters. However, you cannot contribute to your ISA unless you become a UK resident. You are also only able to add the Lifetime ISA to your ISA in the future if you become a UK resident.

If you are a non-UK resident when you withdraw from your Plan, you should be aware that the amount you receive may be subject to taxation by the tax authority of the territory in which you live.

Some young people may only need support to deal or manage their finances. If your child does not have the capacity to manage their Child Trust Fund at age 18, you will need to make an application to the Court of Protection to obtain authority to access this money on their behalf.

If your child requires support to deal with their Child Trust Fund, you may be able to make a Lasting Power of Attorney, which will give you the authority to access the account for them. Acting as an appointee for benefits will not give you legal access to the matured Child Trust Fund. 

You can find more information about how to manage the finances on behalf of someone who lacks mental capacity, including applying to the Court of Protection or supporting someone to make an LPA here.

Please contact Customer Services Maturity team who will be able to advise you on the process and next steps 0333 600 0333