Millions of Brits could get free £2,000 depending on year they were born

If you're exceptionally lucky then you could have been born at just the right time to have some free money coming your way without you even knowing it.

Considering how damn expensive everything is these days that'd be quite a blessing so it really can't hurt to check and see if you're one of the lucky cohort.

The reason why certain lucky Brits might have some free money in the pipeline is because of an old, now cancelled, government policy known as a Child Trust Fund.

The gist of it is that is was a savings scheme offered by the government to new parents to set up a tax-free account where they'd pay in £250 upon birth and another £250 when the child turned seven years old.

Parents were able to top up the fund with up to £9,000 while payments for families on lower incomes were doubled to £500, and there were over five million of these accounts opened.

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Now here comes the tricky bit, since this policy was only active for a period of time it only applies to those born between 1 September, 2002, and 2 January, 2011.

If you were born between those dates then you really ought to check whether or not you have one of these Child Trust Funds, as the average value of the accounts is around £2,000.

Now there is a bit of a hiccup if your plan is to withdraw all the money and go on a spending spree that would have bought you quite a lot more in 2002 than 2023.

You only get control of the account when you're 16 and you can't withdraw money from it until you turn 18.

With over five million of these accounts opened some of them appear to have been forgotten about, and while nobody could blame you for a detail slipping your mind over a rather hectic past few years it's worth checking.

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Speaking about the funds, the chief executive of HMRC Angela MacDonald said: "Teenagers could have a pot of money waiting for them worth thousands of pounds and not even realise it.

"We want to help you access your savings and the money you’re entitled to. To find out more search ‘Child Trust Fund’ on GOV.UK."

If you're a parent wanting to know if your darling child as a Child Trust Fund and how much is in it, or the darling child yourself who has turned 16 and would like to know the same, then you can check on the government's website.

Seriously guys, potentially free money. It's at least worth a look, and hard luck to anyone born on 31 August, 2002 or 3 January, 2011.