Almost a million young people have yet to access savings contained in Child Trust Funds (CTFs), according to a report by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The PAC said over £1.7 billion is waiting to be claimed by a million young adults, at an average value of £1,900 each.
It says 'failure in long-term planning' by HMRC means 42% of eligible 18-20-year-olds have not drawn on their savings.
The PAC says that given CTFs are not reaching many of the people they were designed to help, HMRC should be doing more to find and contact young people who have not claimed their savings.
According to the PAC, many young adults don't know about their savings or have lost track of them. It found that CTF providers are charging fees for passively managing accounts but are not doing enough to link these accounts to their owners.
Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the PAC, said:
'The aims behind CTFs are laudable - for young people to come into a pot of money on reaching 18, with the promotion of financial literacy and good savings habits. But many young people are unaware that they have money waiting to be claimed.
'In an ongoing cost of living crisis, our young people need every bit of support we can give them. HMRC still has time to make sure that CTFs are given the chance to be the boost to young people's futures which they were designed to be.'
Internet link: Parliament website