May 8 2007
A number of UK parents have not invested their child trust fund (CTF) voucher within 12 months of its receipt, it has been claimed, with a potential loss of income occurring as the funds miss out on investment growth or interest.
Nationwide Building Society reports that of 2.2 million issued vouchers, a quarter had not been invested within their first year, resulting in a collective loss in interest of approximately £7.5 million.
Matthew Carter, divisional director of mortgages and savings at the firm, said: "The government needs to do more to encourage parents to invest their child's voucher as soon as possible and certainly before the 12-month expiry period."
He added that parents should be made aware of the importance of early investment of the voucher to enable their child to fully benefit from 18 years investment in the account, which could make a genuine difference to the financial future of young people in Britain.
Last month, the Building Societies Association announced the CTF statistics for the first quarter of the year, reporting that 49,000 of the accounts had been opened from the start of the year to March 2007.
