Martin Lewis has issued an apology after tangling up his words during a live ITV show yesterday evening (November 14). The Money Saving Expert founder made a distinction between adopted and non-adopted children while directing families about budgeting over the Christmas period - heading to X right away to clear the air.
Taking to the platform, he wrote: "Just realised in the heat of live show I said 'adoptive children or your children' - terrible phrasing, sorry. Adopted children are of course your children."
The financial expert was talking about the Child Trust Fund when he made the slip-up, which is a long-term tax-free savings account for children who were born between September 1, 2002, and January 2, 2011. Parents can continue to add up to £9,000 per year into an existing account, which the child can withdraw when they turn 18.
- Read More: Martin Lewis says you can get £200 in your bank account before Christmas - but you need to act fast
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The recipient of the fund does not have to pay any tax on the income, nor the profit it makes - and it does not affect any other benefits or tax credits received. Detailing the fund further on social media, Martin explained: "Important tho to highlight many adopted children age 12 to 21's parent may not know they have a Child Trust Fund poss worth £1,000.
"So do check on http://gov.uk to see if you can trace it (other parents who may've lost track of it can do the same too)."
And Martin's understanding followers flocked to the comments section to reassure the money man that they were far from annoyed by the blip. One, wrote: "Martin as a father of 4 adopted children I am not in the least offended. TBH I didn't even notice. Would like to say thanks for your switching advice as two of the kids are 18+ now and we have 4 regular switchers in the family which has made made us nearly £2000 in the last year."
Another, echoed: "Thanks Martin, father of three adopted children and I wasn't offended, but glad you are sensitive and give language consideration. Also one of mine is 12 so will check the trust fund tip out. Thank you""
Meanwhile, a third, went on: "Words carry weight, thank you for being sensitive," while a fourth, added: "It was a slip of the tongue, you are forgiven, until you mentioned it I don’t think anyone noticed."
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