Child Trust Fund reaches five million milestone

Over five million children now have a Child Trust Fund (CTF) according to the latest HMRC statistics, released today.

The Children's Mutual, leading Child Trust Fund provider, welcomes the news which demonstrates the popularity of the scheme with families across the UK and shows the widespread impact the CTF is having on changing the nations savings habits and providing a financial foot hold for tomorrow's 18-year-olds.

David White, Chief Executive of The Children's Mutual, said: "Reaching five million Child Trust Fund accounts is a significant milestone. It is significant for the families who have engaged and are preparing for their children's futures. But it is also significant for the providers who have made huge strides in engaging and supporting parents to help them with their financial decisions."

"Child Trust Funds are approaching their five year anniversary in early April and currently nearly three quarters of parents choose to proactively open their child's CTF account. In addition to this our research has found that a further 10 per cent of parents consciously decide to let the Government open the account for them - making an active engagement rate of nearly 85 per cent. This is particularly noteworthy as only 40 per cent of the adult population has a private pension and an even lower 30 per cent has an ISA - further underlining the true engagement UK families have with the Child Trust Fund."