£69m unclaimed Child Trust Funds in Wales, charity says
Nearly half of these accounts (46.1 per cent) belong to young people from low-income backgrounds.
The Share Foundation is calling for automatic payments of these funds to eligible account holders once they turn 21.
Gavin Oldham, chairman of trustees at The Share Foundation, said: "Child poverty is becoming one of the big issues of our time.
"We need to break the cycle of deprivation which is why, over the past 12 years, we have been committed to establishing starter capital accounts for young people in care and helping young people from low-income backgrounds access Child Trust Funds they never even knew existed.
"These initiatives are delivering positive outcomes exactly when families need them most."
The charity has already helped more than 85,000 young people access at least £165 million in matured CTFs.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Warning for thousands of parents to claim code for free childcare support before key deadline in weeks
PARENTS should be aware of fast-approaching deadline to apply for free child care support. If you want to keep or start receiving up to 30 hours of free childcare a week for children aged nine months to four years, you must apply or renew your childcare code by August 31. 1 This applies to working parents in England who use registered childcare providers such as nurseries, playschemes, or wrap-around care. You'll need to set up a childcare account online and apply via or the HMRC app. Once approved, you'll get an 11-digit code to give your childcare provider as proof of eligibility. If your child turns nine months old between April 1 and August 31, you must apply by August 31 to get free childcare starting in September. If you already receive 15 hours for your child under two, you'll automatically get 30 hours from September, but you still need to confirm your details and provide the code to your provider. Some childcare providers ask for codes before the August 31 deadline so it's best to apply as soon as possible. Once you have your code, you'll need to reconfirm your details every three months to keep your place, although some providers may offer a short grace period. If you're starting a new job, returning from parental leave, or changing circumstances, deadlines vary - but August 31 is the key date for many parents wanting free childcare starting this autumn. To apply or check eligibility visit Who's eligible for free childcare hours? YOU could get up to 30 hours of free childcare per week through the Free Childcare for Working Parents scheme if you meet these conditions: Child's age: Your child must be between 9 months and 4 years old and live in England. From September 2025: All children aged 9 months to 2 years will qualify for 30 free hours per week. Income: Each parent must earn at least £166 per week (equal to working 16 hours at minimum wage) and no more than £100,000 per year. If you're not eligible for the 30-hour scheme, you can still get 15 free hours per week for all 3 and 4-year-olds, starting from the term after their third birthday until they begin school. This is available to everyone, regardless of income or benefits. Your 2-year-old can also get free childcare if you live in England and meet any of these conditions: You receive benefits like Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), or Universal Credit (with a household income of £15,400 or less after tax, not including benefit payments). You get the guaranteed element of Pension Credit. Your child is also eligible if they: Are in the care of a local authority. Have an education, health, and care (EHC) plan. Receive Disability Living Allowance. Have been adopted or are under a special guardianship or child arrangements order. Taking up the 15 free hours for 2-year-olds won't affect your benefits. Freebies for parents worth £2,900 What other childcare help is available? Child benefit Every parent in the UK can apply for child benefit to help with the costs of raising their child. You can get it if you're responsible for bringing up a child who is under 16 or under 20 and in approved education or training. The benefit is worth £26.05 a week for your eldest child, and then £17.25 a week for any subsequent children. For a family with two children who qualify, this adds up to £2251.60 a year. For just one child, you get £1354.60 a year. While child benefit is available for all to apply, there is a caveat for higher earners. If one parent in the household earns over £60,000 per year, a portion of the benefit must be repaid, this triggers the so-called high income child benefit charge. This means a portion of the benefit must be repaid. Once an individual's income exceeds £80,000, the entire benefit must be repaid. You can apply by visiting Universal Credit childcare element If you're on Universal Credit and working, you can get up to 85% of your childcare costs covered. This can be up to £1,031.88 per month for one child or £1,768.94 per month for two or more children. It doesn't matter how many hours you work, but if you have a partner, both of you must be working to qualify. Normally, you'll need to pay for childcare upfront and then claim the costs back. However, if you're starting a new job or increasing your hours, you can ask for the money to be paid in advance. In some cases, if you can't afford to pay upfront, you may be able to get extra help with the initial costs. To find out more visit:
Daily Mail
21 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Four ways to sidestep tax on savings that'll hit a record 2.6m
Four times as many will pay tax on their hard-earned savings this year compared with 2021-22. Some 2.64million will be stung by income tax on the interest they earn in their savings accounts in 2025-26, says HM Revenue & Customs. The taxman is clawing back earnings on a record number of savers, with another 120,000 dragged into the net over the past year. Four years ago, just 647,000 paid the punitive tax. This is because while savings rates have soared, the Personal Savings Allowance (PSA) has been frozen for nearly a decade. Interest on savings is treated as income and taxed at your marginal rate of income tax. Savers all have a PSA, giving them £1,000 or £500 of interest tax-free, for basic and higher rate taxpayers, respectively. A basic rate taxpayer would breach their PSA with £19,600 in the top easy-access account, while a higher-rate taxpayer would breach it with £9,800 saved. This was £154,000 and £77,000 respectively in 2021. Banks and building societies automatically report interest earned to HMRC. So how can you sidestep the tax? We asked experts for their top tips... 1) Put your savings into an Isa The best way to shield savings from tax is to funnel your money into an Individual Savings Account (Isa). These are much like any other type of cash savings account, except any interest earned is completely sheltered from tax. You can put up to £20,000 into Isas every tax year. Savers can bag a rate above 5 per cent on easy access Isas, while one-year fixes pay up to 4.3 per cent. Laura Suter of stockbroker AJ Bell says: 'Using tax wrappers like cash Isas or investment Isas is now more important than ever to protect your savings.' 2) Max out other allowances If your only source of income is your savings interest – and that is less than £100,000 – you qualify for tax-free allowances. These are the personal allowance of £12,570 and the £5,000 starting rate for savings. Low earners can use their personal allowance of £12,570 to earn interest tax-free if it has not been used up by earnings or other income, such as a pension. Those earning less than £12,570 receive an extra £5,000 tax-free allowance for their savings income. This means someone can earn £12,570 in income and £6,000 in savings interest (£5,000 starting savings allowance plus the personal savings allowance of £1,000) before tax is applied. Another way you could cut a tax bill is by transferring some of your personal allowance to your spouse if they earn less than you and below £12,570. 3) Premium Bonds Tens of millions flock to National Savings and Investments (NS&I) to win one of two £1million prizes in the monthly Premium Bonds draw. Any prizes are tax-free. Prizes offered by the Treasury-backed bank NS&I range from £25 to £1million and the maximum you can invest in Premium Bonds is £50,000. But winning is not guaranteed and your money won't earn interest in Premium Bonds. The odds of any Premium Bonds winning a prize in a monthly draw is one in 22,000. 4) Invest in gilts For those with larger amounts of cash they don't need immediate access to, investing in government bonds can be a tax-efficient alternative. Look for gilts with low coupons that can be bought below the value at which they will mature. This is because price gains made on gilts are exempt from capital gains tax. You receive a regular income, known as the coupon, and if you hang on until the maturity date you get all your money back, except in the unlikely event that the UK defaults on its debt.
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
DWP to make big changes to 10 means-tested benefits including Universal Credit within DAYS
Watch our video below to see if you're missing out on extra cash to help with bills TO YOUR BENEFIT DWP to make big changes to 10 means-tested benefits including Universal Credit within DAYS THE Department for Work and Pensions is making a major change to 11 mean-tested benefits within days. This means thousands of people receiving welfare payments, such as Universal Credit, will get their money on a different day than usual. Advertisement 1 The amount you get paid will not change Credit: Alamy This is because when the day payments are due falls on a bank holiday or the weekend, payments are made on the first working day before. The upcoming bank holiday falls on Monday, August 25. So if you're due to receive a payment on that day, it will be issued earlier, on Friday, August 22. Anyone expecting them on August 23 or 24 will also receive their money on August 22. Advertisement The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HMRC have confirmed the following benefits will be made early in August: Attendance allowance Carer's allowance Disability living allowance Income support Jobseeker's allowance Pension credit Personal independence payment (PIP) State pension Universal Credit Child benefit (paid by HMRC) The amount you get paid will not change. It will be the same as the previous month unless you have had a change of circumstances that has affected how much you are due. Remember that if you get paid early, you must make that money last, as you will have to wait extra days until your next payment date. Advertisement If you are expecting your benefit payment on August 22 and don't receive it, contact the DWP. You can also submit a complaint to the government department to get a problem sorted if your payment is wrong. Three key benefits that YOU could be missing out on, and one even gives you a free TV Licence Other bank holidays this year AFTER August, there are two more bank holidays before the end of the year which could impact when you receive your benefits. Here's when DWP or HMRC will make your payments: December 25 - payments will be made on December 24 instead - payments will be made on December 24 instead December 26 - payments will be made on December 24 instead Meanwhile, parents have just weeks to take action or they could risk losing their child benefit payments. The taxman is posting thousands of letters to parents of teenagers asking them to give an update about their future education plans. Advertisement Child benefit is currently worth £26.05 a week for the eldest child or only child. For each subsequent child, parents get £17.25 a week. However, payments automatically stop on August 31 on or after the child has turned 16 unless parents renew their claim when their child is continuing in education. The parents of children who are furthering their education have until August 31 to tell HMRC or their payments will automatically stop. Advertisement Parents can continue to receive the cash boost up until their child is 19, and enrolled in an apprenticeship program or the following education schemes: A levels or Scottish Highers International Baccalaureate home education - if it started before their child turned 16, or after 16 if they have a statement of special educational needs and it was assessed by the local authority T levels NVQs, up to level 3. Child benefit will also continue for children studying on one of these unpaid approved training courses: In Wales: Foundation Apprenticeships, Traineeships or the Jobs Growth Wales+ scheme In Northern Ireland: PEACEPLUS Youth Programme 3.2, Training for Success or Skills for Life and Work In Scotland: Employability Fund programme and No One Left Behind
