Are Child Trust Funds the key to financially educating Gen Z? 💰

Last week, the government announced it’s releasing £87.5 million in dormant assets to improve financial inclusion.  With financial literacy at worrying levels,  we’re all for any initiative that boosts financial education — particularly ones that give young people experiential experiences with managing their money.

But here’s the big question: Could the Child Trust Funds (CTFs) be the key?

Child Trust Funds - government-backed savings pots - were set up during the Blair government, and are still largely untapped. HMRC is encouraging 671,000 eligible 18 year olds to cash in their accounts, but ...

• Are they even aware of the funds waiting for them?
• Do young people know there might be anywhere between £100 and £2000 waiting for them to claim? 
• Are they aware that leaving their money in the CTF after they turn 18 may not be the best option for their money?

Greater awareness of Child Trust Funds could be an incredible vehicle for financial education — encouraging young people to take control of their finances and plan for their futures. Imagine if Gen Z thought about saving and investing that £2k, rather than spending it on the latest tech or trainers?

We see thousands of teens and young adults creating savings goals on our platform  -  timely prompts and financial education really help to encourage that.  So what if we could inspire them to build positive money habits, such as saving or investing, with real-world opportunities like CTFs? At the end of the day, CTFs were designed to kickstart investment for life-events and to give all young people a leg-up towards independence. 

At MyPocketSkill, we're always looking for innovative ways to engage young people with financial education. CTFs represent a fantastic opportunity to kickstart financial literacy and long-term money management skills that will last a lifetime.

Let’s use this real-world opportunity to inspire our next generation of savers and investors.