This project looks at the evolution of this key UK asset-based welfare policy as it begins to be available to those becoming 18 years old – the point at which invested funds become available to be spent.

Commencing just over 20 years ago one of the world’s largest ever experiments with asset-based welfare was launched in the UK – the Child Trust Fund programme. This programme involved gifting sums of at least £250 to all children as they were born to create a saving scheme for them that would be invested on their behalf to vest when they were 18 years of age. Parents (and others) could contribute to this product in their children’s name to help they grow an asset to use as they wished at vesting.

However, despite grand promises and the potential for this scheme to provide a significant change to the savings for UK young people which operates at very low levels historically, the provision of these funds only lasted a few years before the UK Government backed down on its commitment to support of this important experiment. While it operated however, millions of these pots had been created in the meantime that began to vest in September 2021.

This quantitative project utilises various waves of the Wealth and Asset Survey data to explore what happened to this programme, how it grew over time and what effect it had on other parental savings for their children (in the scheme and otherwise). It is the only large-scale review of this scheme that has been created.

Output: Final paper on Social Policy and Administration

Aston press release Sep 2023

Team: Steve McKay, Lin Tian and Andy Lymer