Children's Savings
Make a difference to your child's future
It's never been more important to put money away for our children.
Save for your son, daughter, grandchild, niece or nephew and provide a secure start.
Ask a question for FREE about Children's Savings
Did you know :
- Any parent will be fully aware of the mounting costs of raising a child. Research suggests that expenditure from birth up until the age of 21 can accumulate to around £210, 000.
- With the current rise in university tuition fees this figure is sure to increase considerably.
- Parents could take steps towards giving their children a head start, while reducing room for money worries that do tend to cause obstacles.
Saving in this way is a long term investment in their child’s future, which also presents great monetary value, rather than in short bursts for those forgotten birthday gifts. The key when it comes to saving to give your child a head start is to start as early as possible and to view the savings as a long term investment that will have time to grow and be of real value.
Many friends and family of children do tend to begin making small savings but with no clear goal in sight. Of course these savings are then subject to taxation on the growth of funds and final lump sum pay-outs. Families who decide to save regularly with friendly societies enjoy these funds and lump sums with a tax-exempt status. Seeking the most tax-efficient savings plans ensures that their money is working harder and their children reap the greatest rewards as the end product.
A university savings plan designed uniquely around saving for education and the future of prospective students could be the answer. A plan that enables greater control and variation of payments could be something for friends and family to look out for. Currently, many organisations offer policies that appear to offer these features but when examined more closely, tend to be general savings plans with slight rewording of product features.
Many will understand that handing an 18-21 year old a giant lump sum is, in many cases, might end up being spent on a wild party! The option to receive funds in stages or smaller lump sums could be the turning point from children wasting these savings, to putting them to better use, building upon the foundations of their future and to kick-start their career.
Also the Junior ISA scheme was launched by the government in 2011 to encourage parents to save for their children and enjoy real tax advantages while doing so. You can save up to a maximum of £3600 a year in a Junior ISA for any UK resident child who is aged under 18 and who doesn't already have a child trust fund
Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles can invest sums monthly and can also top this up with lump sums from £100 as and when circumstances permit. However you need to note that funds in the Junior ISA cannot be withdrawn until the child reaches the age of 18; this ensures that savings really are for their future benefit.
The Child Trust Fund may have been replaced but you can still invest. Any parent whose child was born between September 2002 and January 2011 will have automatically received a voucher to enable them to open a Child Trust Fund (CTF) to save for their child's future.
You can use your CTF voucher to open a fund and continue to invest in this on a monthly and lump sum basis until the child reaches age 18. The maximum you can invest is £3600 a year and your child will have a tax-free lump sum to look forward to when they're old enough to really need this.
