Child Trust Fund

Between 1 September 2002 and 1 January 2011 the Government provided each newborn child with a voucher worth £250 when their parents registered for Child Benefit. This must be used to open a Child Trust Fund (CTF) account on the child’s behalf. You, your family and friends can all then add to this account, up to the maximum of £3600 each year. This amount is to be index-linked from 06 April 2013.  The Government will make a second contribution when the child is seven. The idea is that the CTF account encourages parents and children to save for the future, teaches children the value of saving and gives every child a financial asset at the age of 18. There are 3 different types of CTF account – Savings accounts, accounts that invest in shares and a Stakeholder account.
Furness Building Society only offers the Savings account option. 

The account can only be opened by a parent (or person with parental responsibility) with the CTF Voucher issued by the Government. The voucher is only valid for 12 months and an account cannot be opened with an expired voucher. The CTF investment shall be in the beneficial ownership of the child. Only one person can be the Registered Contact on a CTF to be responsible for looking after the account for the child until the child reaches age 16. At this time the child will automatically become the Registered Contact until the age of 18 when the account must be closed. Additional contributions can be added by anyone, subject to the £3600 a year maximum. The account year runs from the child’s birthday.

The CTF voucher can be accepted as full identification for the child. However, the Registered Contact must provide identification in accordance with our requirements. Please refer to our Customer Identification information.

Gross interest will be added to the account annually on the child’s birthday. Interest will start to accrue from the date of receipt of the Government contribution, not the date of opening the account.

CTF transactions can be made either by cash, cheque or standing order.

No withdrawals can be made from the account until the child’s 18th birthday. The funds will be paid to the child at age 18. Any payments into the account from third parties are a gift to the child and cannot be withdrawn by the donor under any circumstances.

After the CTF is opened you can transfer to another type of CTF account with the same or another provider without any charge made by the Society. A child cannot have more than one CTF at any one time. Transfers can be made from Non-stakeholder to Stakeholder type or vice versa. However, a CTF cannot be a mix of Non-stakeholder and Stakeholder. Any transfer request will be actioned within the time stipulated by the Registered Contact subject to a minimum of 30 days.

Any overpayments received will be returned to the source wherever possible. If the source cannot be determined a cheque will be issued payable to the child.

If you decide that the account is not suitable within 14 days of depositing the voucher you can cancel the account and transfer the voucher to another provider. Any such request must be made in writing to our Head Office. If you do not exercise your right to cancel in the first 14 days, before the Government credit the Society with the value of the voucher, you will need to contact the new CTF provider to request the transfer directly from us. You will also be bound by the terms and conditions detailed in the Key Features Document.

The Society will notify the registered contact if, by reason of failure to satisfy the provisions of the CTF regulations, the account has or will become void.

If you are interested in a Stakeholder Account, we have teamed up with Family Investments, the UK’s favourite Child Trust Fund provider. They look after the CTF accounts of more than half a million children and have been helping families invest for their future for over 30 years. Family Investments offers both a Stakeholder and an Ethical Stakeholder Child Trust Fund both of which invest mainly in shares, which means it is possible to receive back less than was paid in. They have a simple online application process and unlike many other providers offer an online CTF account management facility.
For more information on the Family Investments Stakeholder and Ethical Stakeholder CTF please visit their website at www.familyinvestments.co.uk or telephone them on freephone 0800 616695.