The Treasury has launched a new push to trace owners of matured child trust funds (CTFs) by setting up a new taskforce which includes major providers of the savings accounts.
The government reckons more than 750,000 young people still have unclaimed accounts worth £2,200 on average.
Nationwide, HSBC UK, Sheffield Mutual and One Family are among the members of new taskforce.
The other members are Coutts, Pilling, The Coventry (Co-operative), Unity Mutual, Forester, Healthy Investments and The Share Foundation.
Child trust funds funds were originally set up by the government for those born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 to give every child a financial asset at adulthood. They were later dropped by the government but earlier plans remain active.
Around 6.3m child trust fund accounts were opened for children between 2002 and 2011, predominantly by parents and guardians, with the remainder established by HMRC.
Accounts can go unclaimed for a number of reasons, the Treasury said, such as difficulty locating them, people forgetting they have them, or a decision to leave the funds invested for the time being.
The taskforce has brought providers together to improve tracing approaches, test more effective engagement with young people, and drive practical actions that lead to more accounts being claimed.
Rachel Blake, economic secretary to the Treasury, said: “Too many young people are missing out simply because they are not aware of where their Child Trust Fund is or how to access it. We are acting to fix that by bringing government and industry together - improving coordination and making it easier for people to find and claim what’s rightfully theirs.”
The Treasury said many eligible young people now aged 15 to 23 may not know they have an account.
• Anyone born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 can search for their account on GOV.UK. The search is free, requires only a National Insurance number, and takes minutes. Those aged 18 or over can access funds immediately.