Child Trust Funds.
Useful information
Welcome to our Child Trust Fund centre.
If you’ve got a Child Trust Fund, also known as a CTF, here’s where you’ll find some useful information about managing your account.
Got a CTF with Ipswich Building Society? That’s us! We renamed to Suffolk Building Society in 2021 and, apart from a new name and new look, nothing else has changed.
Here to help
All you need to know about Child Trust Funds.
Child Trust Funds, commonly known as CTFs, were introduced by the government for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 as a method of long term, tax free savings. They mature on the account holders’ 18th birthday, when the savings can be accessed.
If you’re not sure what provider your CTF is saved with, you can visit the government website to locate it. Please ensure you always use the official government website for this service, which is free to use and secure.
If you believe your child may not have the capacity to make decisions about their account on maturity, you can find out more by visiting the Government website which contains useful information on applying for a Deputyship.
An ISA (sometimes called NISA) stands for Individual Savings Account. The main difference between an ISA and any other savings account is that it offers tax free interest payments, so you could get more for your money. Tax free means that you will never pay tax on any interest you earn on money saved in an ISA account. For more information about how a CTF can be reinvested into an adult ISA see our useful downloads below.
Manage your account
Existing CTF holders.
Was your Child Trust Fund originally opened with Ipswich Building Society? That’s us! We’re now known as Suffolk Building Society, but we’re still here to help you manage your account.
We will be writing to all Child Trust Fund account holders ahead of their 18th birthday. The letter will explain all of the details and comes with a Maturity Instruction Form to complete and return, along with some identification requirements. The outline options for the funds saved include:
- Withdraw the balance by cheque (funds will lose tax free status)
- Continue saving tax free in an Stepping Stone ISA, either with Suffolk Building Society or another provider
- Withdraw part of the funds and save the rest in a tax free adult ISA
If you have a Child Trust Fund with us, have reached your 18th birthday and have not received this letter please contact us on 0330 123 0723 or email [email protected].
Resources
External links.
Secure document uploads.
If you have received your Child Trust Fund maturity letter from us, here is where you need to upload scanned or photo images of your Change of Registered Contact Form, Maturity Instruction Form and Identification, straight from your computer or mobile device.
Please read the following steps to make sure that we can deal with your instructions as quickly as possible:
- If you are uploading a Change Of Registered Contact Form, make sure you have imaged both sides of the form
- Make sure your images are clear and taken using .jpeg format if you are using your mobile phone
- Make sure images of your identification show the full document including reference numbers, signatures and both pages for a recently issued passport. See our specimen images for driving licence and passport and recently issued passport
- Make sure you name each image with your account number and surname. If you have taken a photo image on your smart phone you will need to download this to your computer so that you can rename your image
- Click the ‘Browse’ button in the form to find the file on your computer
Secure Document Upload Tool.
After we’ve written to you prior to your 18th birthday and confirmed the ID required to access your funds, you can use this tool to upload your ID documents and signed instructions, Maturity Form and Registered Contact Form.
If you get stuck or have any questions, please email [email protected] or call 0330 123 0723.