Approximately 500,000 Child Trust Fund (CTF) vouchers, worth £125m, have still not been invested a year after the Government initiated the scheme.

Many parents claim to be ill-informed of their options – 38% admit they have not yet invested the voucher because they are unsure of where to put it. However, over half of parents yet to invest the voucher say they simply ‘haven’t found the time’ according to a joint survey by the Post Office and parenting website, Mumsnet.com.

From this month the Government will begin investing unclaimed vouchers as part of its default system, giving parents no choice in where and how they are invested. More than one in four parents are also unaware of this process.

Richard Norman, head of savings and investments at the Post Office, said: “It’s great that three quarters of parents have taken the initiative on behalf of their child. However, with vouchers starting to expire, those parents who haven’t invested yet need to realise that by taking action now, the Inland Revenue will invest the funds on their behalf without any guarantee that they will end up in the account of their choice.”