More than 800,000 people have unknown savings worth £183million just sitting there waiting to be claimed, a Mirror investigation can reveal.
The cash haul - which averages £226.82 per person - is sitting in unclaimed Children's Bonds, a deal launched by National Savings & Investments (NS&I) in 2003.
Children's Bonds, dubbed 'baby bonds', were a five-year savings deal paying a yearly fixed interest rate, and could be renewed once the term was up.
They could only be given to people under 16 - hence the name - and were often given as a gift by parents or grandparents.
The deals were taken off the market in September 2017. But any customers who had taken out baby bonds before this date could keep them until they naturally ended.
The problem is many did not come forward to claim their cash. Many of the lucky recipients of the bonds are unaware they have them, or don't know how to collect them.
NS&I told the Mirror it currently has 807,559 unclaimed baby bond deals, with a total value of £183.1million.
Savers who think they might have these deals should act quickly, and not just because cashing in the bonds makes a pretty good windfall.
NS&I's unclaimed deals eventually end up in its 'residual account' until claimed - earning just 0.03% interest a year.
As the final batches of baby bonds mature, many of them will end up earning this low interest rate.
NS&I said it writes to all customers with maturing baby bonds, telling them their options. These vary, depending on your age.
If the owner is 16 or under, the bonds are managed by a parent or responsible adult. The adult can put the cash into another NS&I deal, including its Junior ISA. This currently pays 1.5% interest a year - provided the child doesn't have another one.
Or they can close the deal and take the money.
If the baby bond owner is 16 or 17, they can cash the deal in or swap it to another NS&I deal - including its Junior ISA.
If the owner is over 18, they can take the money or move it to another NS&I product- but not its Junior ISA, as these can only be opened by under-18s.
If the account owner does nothing, and has given NS&I their bank details, they will get the cash paid to them automatically.
If not, the bonds will sit in the residual account until the claimant contacts NS&I.
An NS&I spokesperson told The Mirror: "NS&I writes to customers 30 day before maturity and then there is a further 30 days for the customer to advise NS&I on the actions to be taken with their funds.
"The maturity letter is sent by post and includes a leaflet advising them that Children’s Bonds are no longer on sale and the options they have available to them as outlined above."
How to access lost Children's Bonds
You need to contact NS&I with as much information about the bonds as you can.
The best way is online. NS&I's website has a section that lets you access your Children's Bonds once the five-year term is up.
You can cash them out during this term, but will be charged 90 days interest as a penalty.
Children's Bonds changed slightly over time. The interest rate changed every year - once paying 11.84% interest. The deals were first called Children's Bonus Bonds, and were then renamed to Children's Bonds.
