Estimates put unclaimed UK money somewhere between £40 billion and £50 billion. Some of it is almost certainly yours. Every check below is free and official — and if you are between 18 and 23, start with the first one.
This is the single biggest and most overlooked pot in Britain. 758,000 young people have an unclaimed Child Trust Fund, together worth over £1.5 billion. The average is around £2,000, and HMRC figures show roughly 27,000 accounts hold more than £10,000.
If you were born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, the government opened an account in your name and paid money into it. You can access it from 18. Many people have no idea it exists, because the paperwork went to a parent at an address they left years ago.
The Public Accounts Committee found that around half of the unclaimed money belongs to young people from low-income families — the people it was designed to help. Checking takes minutes on GOV.UK and needs only your National Insurance number and date of birth. More on our Child Trust Fund guide.
| What | Who it applies to | Typical amount | Where to check | Cost | What you need |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child Trust Fund | Born 1 Sep 2002 – 2 Jan 2011 | ~£2,000 average; 27,000 accounts over £10,000 | HMRC Child Trust Fund finder on GOV.UK | Free | NI number, date of birth |
| Lost pension pots | Anyone who has changed jobs | ~£9,400 average per pot | Pension Tracing Service (GOV.UK) | Free | Employer or scheme name |
| Dormant bank or savings account | Account untouched for years | Varies | My Lost Account (banks, building societies, NS&I) | Free | Name, addresses you have lived at |
| Premium Bonds prizes | Anyone who has ever held bonds | Over £88m in unclaimed prizes | NS&I prize checker and tracing service | Free | Holder number or NI number |
| Overpaid tax | PAYE workers, pensioners | Varies | Personal Tax Account on GOV.UK | Free | Government Gateway login |
| Work expenses relief | Uniform, tools, some backdated claims | £12–£280 typical over four years | HMRC, direct | Free | Job details, employer |
| Unclaimed estates | Relatives of someone who died without a will | Varies | Bona Vacantia unclaimed estates list | Free | Family names and dates |
| Money held by the courts | People owed money from a court case | Varies | Court Funds Office | Free | Case details if known |
Every service above is free. Commercial tracing firms advertise heavily around lost pensions, dormant accounts and Child Trust Funds, and typically keep a percentage of whatever they recover.
They are doing searches you can do yourself in minutes. If a company contacts you offering to find money in your name, you can safely decline and check directly. If a message feels pressuring or asks for bank details, run it through our scam check first.
There are an estimated 3.3 million lost pension pots worth around £31 billion, with the Association of British Insurers putting the average pot at roughly £9,400. One in four workers has left retirement savings behind at an old job.
The government’s Pension Tracing Service is free and searches a database of over 320,000 scheme administrators. You need the employer’s name — even an approximate one helps. It is also worth checking your National Insurance record, since gaps can quietly reduce your State Pension.
My Lost Account is a free joint service from the banks, building societies and NS&I covering more than 70 providers. It can take up to three months, so start it and get on with the other checks.
Separately, NS&I estimated over £88 million in unclaimed Premium Bond prizes. Their prize checker is free and works from your holder number or National Insurance number — see our Premium Bonds guide.
No. Every service on this page is free and official. Commercial tracing firms charge a percentage of whatever they recover — you can do exactly the same searches yourself for nothing.
If you were born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 you almost certainly have one. Use the free HMRC tool on GOV.UK — you need your National Insurance number and date of birth. It tells you which provider holds the account.
The average unclaimed account is around £2,000, and HMRC figures show about 27,000 accounts hold more than £10,000.
Use the government's free Pension Tracing Service. It searches a database of more than 320,000 scheme administrators. You need the employer's name, or the pension provider if you know it.
My Lost Account is free and covers more than 70 providers, but can take up to three months to come back. Start it and forget it rather than waiting on it.
Most people never check, and the money sits there. The Child Trust Fund alone is £1.5 billion waiting for 758,000 young adults who mostly do not know it exists. None of these searches costs anything, and between them they take under half an hour.
Lost money is one half. The other is support you are entitled to right now and have never claimed.