Parents are being urged to invest their child trust fund (CTF) vouchers now in order to take advantage of the free money being offered to provide their children with a positive financial start in life.

Tesco Personal Finance says government figures show that a quarter of all families eligible to take part in the CTF scheme have not yet opened an account to invest their child’s voucher. This means UK families are missing out on tens of millions of pounds.

Jeremy Sutton, head of Tesco Savings, said: “We know from this government research that over 50,000 families have yet to claim their share of the £12.5 million plus in unclaimed vouchers.”

Tesco has launched its own CTF account in a bid to encourage parents to cash their vouchers by making it easier for them to do so.

The advice comes after the government announced measures to further promote the benefits of the CTF scheme by sending out reminder letters to parents and training voluntary and community organisations to help families with their investment decisions.

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