Introduction
Parent, guardians, relatives and close family friends have the natural desire to start putting money aside for children from a young age. A little, or maybe even not so little, nest egg to help fund the youngster through higher education one day, provide a deposit to get them on the housing ladder or even contribute towards a future wedding. There are a number of major expenses that young adults encounter, often long before they have had the time and opportunity to create any significant savings of their own. It often falls to the parents or close family to help the younger generation out with these expenses, if they themselves are financially able. Forward thinking adults often take the sensible decision to plan ahead and make sure that these future expenses are covered.
Many of us will have had a savings account as youngsters that our parents, grandparents and other adults close to the family would make contributions to on birthdays, Christmases and other special occasions: or simply when the thought occurred or they were able. Luckily there are now a number of specialist savings and investment products designed particularly for the purpose of saving for children. Many of those come with generous tax advantages and other forms of government support, making them far more effective than the simple savings accounts of old. No longer is a slightly superior interest rate all the extra incentive given to adults saving for a child’s future.
In this guide we’ll take a look at the choice of specialist junior saving and investments products currently available to adults who wish to start early in building a nest egg for a child and their various characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.
Topics covered in this Guide
- Why Start Young?
- The Options
- Junior ISA
- Junior SIPP
- Bare Trusts
- Alternatives
